


A Full Moon Rising

by beyxnd_the_stars



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alpha - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Alternate Universe - Wolves, F/F, Fantasy, Fiction, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friendship, Gay, Humor, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Love, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Mythology, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements, Werewolves, Wolf Pack, Wolves, mature - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:34:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27840820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beyxnd_the_stars/pseuds/beyxnd_the_stars
Summary: Riley Anderson was your normal businesswoman. She worked a nine to five, corporation job in the Marketing and Social Media Department as a Marketing Manager. Ever since she graduated from college a few years ago, her life has been anything but extraordinary. Little did she know that there was a war among the nearby werewolf tribes and little did she know that she would find herself falling in love with one of the alphas, Lauren Mikaelson.
Relationships: Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 17
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my first story on this platform, and I wanted to try it out. This is also uploaded on Wattpad under my username (beyxnd-the-stars), if you wanted to check it out there. I'll try to update as frequent as possible and I really love feedback, so let me know your thoughts!  
> I hope you guys enjoy!!

The sound of the bell chiming above the coffee shop door is all too familiar. The feeling of the finished oak of the front door underneath the palm of her hand has been engrained into her mind as she visits her favorite coffee shop every morning before heading into work.

“Riley!” Rob, the coffee shop owner exclaims. “How are you today?”

Riley smiled at the elderly man, as she does every morning. “Hey Rob, I’m good. How are you?”

Rob shrugged his shoulders and held his hands up to his establishment, “I can’t complain now, can I?” He chuckles to himself. “Would you like your usual, sweetheart?”

The 24-year-old nodded her head with a smile as she dug into her bag for her wallet so she could pay for her coffee. As she waited for her coffee to be finished, she looked around to see if there was anyone else inside. A young woman near the back of the coffee shop, a college student maybe, was typing away on her laptop with what looked like an Intro to Psychology textbook next to her. She did not miss those times, yet she vividly remembers being in the same exact position as the younger woman just a few years ago. Instead, it was with a Marketing Concepts textbook and a few different notebooks filled with social media marketing strategies.

“Here you go,” Rob handed over her coffee as she gave him cash as payment in return. He opened up the register and as he was about to hand over her change, she waved her hand.

“Don’t worry about it,” Riley smiled. “Keep the change.”

Rob smiled, “You say that every morning. Eventually, my coffee shop will be running business as usual with you as my only customer!”

“Take it as appreciation for making such great coffee for me every morning!” Riley shrugged. “For many years at that,” she added.

Rob thanked her once again before assisting another customer that just walked in the door. Riley finished grabbing her sugars, creamer, and cardboard sleeve before walking out into the sunshine of Seattle, Washington.

Riley continued her walk to work as she usually parks her car at a nearby parking garage, walks to The Coffee Bean to get her morning caffeine before heading down the street a little farther towards her work.

She couldn’t complain about her career. During college, she worked her ass off and graduated Summa Cum Laude for a double major in Marketing Science and Social Media Management. Right after college, she was able to connect with one of her dad’s employees and was able to snag a job as a Social Media Marketing Assistant. After a year, she was promoted to the Marketing Manager and was easily making $65,000 a year. For a 24-year-old out of college, that isn’t too bad.

As she walked up the dozens of concrete stairs leading to the front lobby, she noticed a news crew talking to a few police officers as one was putting up another ‘Wanted’ sign. She sighed.

_Another one._

Bodies have been missing left and right over the past few months, and it wasn’t just in Seattle. Surrounding cities have also reported missing persons over a similar timespan. Riley counted up the total in her head.

_It has to be nearly a dozen now._

The brunette opened the tall glass door and walked into the security booth. She worked for a large Fortune 500 company and they took their security very seriously, especially since the start of the disappearances. She scanned her badge at the front and then walked through the scanner as her bag was being checked by the police officer that usually works an extra shift there.

“Hey Riley,” Officer Herrera stated. “How are you this morning?”

“I’m fine, how about yourself?” She smiled and took a sip of her coffee.

“I’m alright,” he sighed and looked outside the glass doors towards the news crew and his fellow officers from Seattle PD. “There is another kid missing. 21-year-old male, senior at Seattle University.”

Riley also looked over towards the crowd, “Still no leads?”

The older gentleman shook his head, “It’s the third one this month and of course the parents are terrified. I would be too if my kid went missing.”

“I’m sure you guys will find something though.” She picked up her belongings and wished Officer Herrera a good day as she also greeted the secretary sitting at the front desk. Once she pressed the elevator button to go up to her floor, a buzz on her wrist notified her that she received a text.

**Duke Adams:** **Good morning beautiful ;) I got you a coffee! One day, you won’t need to buy one every day when you can make one at my place!**

Riley sighed and even grimaced a little bit. Duke is known for being the womanizer on her floor, and apparently, he is now caught up on her. Even after several attempts of declining a night on the town and avoiding getting wrapped up into going over to his condo for a ‘work thing’.

**Hey, I already got one…as usual.** She typed as she walked into the elevator and pressed her floor level, _17_.

It wasn’t even a few seconds later that she saw the gray bubbles form at the bottom of her screen indicating that he was typing back.

**Duke Adams: I figured, but I’m sure it doesn’t satisfy you as good as mine ;)**

Upon reading the message, she rolled her eyes. Other women might find it disgusting or cringy, but at this point she was used to it after about a month of this. She hopes that one day it will be all over and Duke will move on, but today is not the day.

Once the elevator doors opened, she walked across the marble floors all the way to her office and there he was, standing in his typical navy-blue three-piece suit with caramel-colored leathered accessories.

“Hey Duke, how are you?” Riley sighed as she brushed past him standing with the extra coffee and walked over to her chair. She placed her bag on her desk and started up her MacBook desktop so she could start on some work for the day.

“Hey sweetheart, I’m doing well.” Duke turned and now faced her. He placed the extra coffee cup on her desk in front of her and took a sip of his own. “It’s just the way you like it,” he gestured towards it.

“You truly don’t know the way that I like it,” Riley rolled her eyes as Duke raised his eyebrows.

“What?” He questioned and pointed to it, “It’s how everyone likes it.” He then shoved his hand into his pants pocket and smirked at her.

“Duke, I’m going to say it again,” Riley spoke slowly, making sure she got her point across. “You are not my type, so please move on.”

Duke’s face turned up into a grimace, “That’s what you say now, but just you wait. I will have you begging for me by the end of the quarter.” He said as he started walking out. He opened her office door, but before he walked out, he gave her a wink.

Riley’s face turned into a frown of disgust as she saw him walk down the hallway through her glass walls, probably heading to accompany some other woman on her floor. She really didn’t know how she even gave him the impression that she would remotely be attracted to him.

For starters, he’s the wrong gender.

It’s not like she is in the closet or still trying to figure out who she is. She knows she is gay and has been for many years now. She made the realization her Junior year of high school and definitely had her fair share of hookups and relationships throughout her college years, but she never catches herself yelling it down the hallways at her job. She has only been working here for a little over a year, but her sexuality has never really come up in conversation. She doesn’t have a girlfriend, nor is she in the market for one. During her senior year of college, she vowed off females so she could focus on her studies and finding a job after graduation.

Her parents knew as well. She officially told them before heading off to college for her first semester as a freshman, but they already knew. She guesses she wasn’t as secretive as she thought she was being around other women. They welcomed her with open arms and exclaimed that they still loved her no matter who she is in love with. Besides her parents, the only other person that is close to her that knows is her best friend Raegan. They have known each other since elementary school and Riley claims that Raegan knew about her sexuality before she even did.

As she continued reflecting, she started opening up her emails to see if there were any new announcements to the new marketing campaign that she spearheaded last week. The first draft of it is due tomorrow morning to the Department Head of Marketing and she wanted to make sure her team is ready to present it to the board.

The good thing about her job is that there is always something happening so it makes her really focus on the task at hand and not counting down the minutes until she is able to shut down her computer and walk back down to the parking deck.

The presentation is finally completed as her work day came to an end and after clicking the save button a few too many times, just to be sure, she shut down her computer and locked up her office for the night.

Thankfully, she hasn’t had another run in with Duke today and she wanted it to keep it that way. On her way down to the front lobby, she looked out of the tinted windows of the glass elevator. The elevator was placed at the front of the building so everyone would be able to look outside as they traveled up and down the floor levels.

A small crowd of protesters holding up a few signs were gathered near the announcement board on the side of the street. It was the same area where the news crew was interviewing the small group of police officers this morning. As the elevator lowered, she was able to see a few of the signs and the reasoning behind the protest.

It looked like some friends and family members of the people who have gone missing over the past few months. As the elevator dinged, Riley stepped out onto the marble and tiled floor and headed towards Officer Herrera.

“When did they arrive?” She asked as she walked up.

The older gentleman sighed and placed his hands above his duty belt, “They arrived an hour before lunch and they haven’t moved since. Seattle PD is about to be down here to try and handle it, but I have a feeling it is only going to escalate.”

Riley nodded her head, “It seems that way. Don’t they realize they could just go out and try and find them?”

The officer shook his head, “I don’t think it’s that easy. I was talking to a few of my buddies who are on a few of the cases and there are zero leads. They have been looking everywhere and asking many different people many questions, but whoever did this really covered up their tracks. There is no evidence to go off on.” He looked over towards the crowd of people, “I feel bad for saying this, but at this point, there is nothing else that Seattle PD can do. We have multiple search parties out looking for them. A few of the K-9 units are out with some of the mounted officers. They are looking through all nearby parks and trails, but no updates yet.”

Riley hummed in acknowledgement and wished her officer friend luck as she exited the building. She felt bad for these people. Their loved one is gone without a trace and no one can find them. She grieved for them all the way to her car and the way home, but once she entered her empty apartment, another feeling washed over.

Loneliness.

Granted, Reagan wasn’t supposed to be home yet for another few minutes, but she did wish there was someone to come home to every night. Although she did vow herself off women for her senior year of college, she didn’t think it would extend to two years.

“I guess I just haven’t found the right one,” She whispered to herself as she placed her bag on the kitchen table and headed into the kitchen to heat some leftovers up from last night’s lasagna dinner.

She was just taking her first bite when her best friend came rolling through the door.

“I swear, traffic on that road is horrible at this hour!” the light-skinned, curly haired diva exclaimed as she walked through their front door and dropped her things.

Riley smiled over at her, “You did decide to take a position on the busiest side of the city, you know.”

“Don’t remind me,” Raegan sighed as she took off her Medical Insurance Agent badge and placed it into her purse. “The pay is nice, though. I hope to be done paying off my student loans within the next ten years.”

Riley nodded in agreement as she silently thanked her parents in her head for paying for all of her college. Her father is an owner of a huge stock company and her mother owns two businesses, so they all knew that FAFSA wasn’t going to award her with any scholarship or grant money, so her parents paid all of it for her. She knew she was extremely lucky to have parents with the means to pay for her school, but that didn’t stop her from working all throughout college so she could build up her own savings before heading out into the real world.

“Lucky you don’t have to worry about that,” Raegan sighed as she opened the fridge and then closed it again before grabbing her phone and began ordering takeout. “I wish I had rich parents,” she mumbled before requesting her usual Chinese tray. “Do you want anything?” She asked as she pivoted her phone down so she was able to talk to her without speaking directly into the microphone.

Riley shook her head and pointed to the lasagna that she was currently eating with both hands, exclaiming that she was obviously eating her dinner.

Raegan shrugged her shoulders, “It’s a common question! After a long day, I don’t mind eating more food.”

Riley chuckled and she continued eating her dinner, as her roommate went to get her card from her purse to pay for her food.

*****

The familiar bell chime was heard once again as she pushed open the door to The Coffee Bean. Riley walked in and stood right behind the person who was currently ordering.

Whoever was ordering was ordering a lot of coffee.

The woman was dressed in dark jeans, that hugged the muscles along her thighs quite well in Riley’s opinion. The black leather jacket was wrapped around her with a bit of a navy shirt popping out. Black waves flowed down a little past the woman’s shoulders, but that wasn’t what got her attention. It was the two little tight braids on each side of her face while the top of her head was pulled back into a small ponytail.

Rob then came out from the back holding a large paper bag. Riley knew he kept them in the back for people with large orders. Rob then gathered multiple drink holders and placed about a dozen of coffee cups all ranging in multiple sizes, coffee creamers, and toppings in them.

“Is that everything for you, darling?” Rob asked the woman in front of her.

“Everything looks perfect, Rob.” The woman husked in a low, raspy voice. “Thanks again for hooking us up with all of these. We just got back from a long trip so of course half of them wanted coffee.”

The woman’s chuckle after she finished speaking was gorgeous sounding. Riley has never heard someone chuckle so beautiful.

Rob laughed, “Oh Lauren, nothing has changed. How long was the trip this time?”

“About five months,” Lauren replied. “We were up in the Canadian mountains, which was nice, but it feels great to be home again,” she added as she handed over a platinum card to pay for the order.

Riley has only seen that type of card one other time. Her father has one.

Rob took the card and ran it through the machine as Lauren gathered the coffee cup holders and placed them in the bag carefully. She grabbed the bag by the handles as she received her card back from Rob.

“I am really glad you guys are back. The past few months have been quite questionable. Have you heard the news?” Rob asked a little more underneath his breath, but Riley was still close enough to hear.

Lauren nodded, “That was the big push for us returning. Don’t worry, we will find out what is going on.”

Rob gave her a small smile, “Good, I have been very worried. How is your dad?”

“He’s alright,” Lauren stated as she put her card back in her leather tri-fold wallet and placed it in the back pocket of her jeans. “He is quite worried too. He doesn’t know what’s going on.”

Rob nodded, “Well, I hope you guys figure it out soon. Have a good day, Lauren.”

Lauren waved as she started to turn around, “Bye Rob and thanks again!”

As Lauren’s face came into full view, Riley felt her breath get caught in her throat. Lauren was extremely gorgeous. Her large chocolate eyes contrasted well against her tan, olive skin. The tight side braids on either side of her face really accentuated the woman’s cheek bones. Riley also noticed that this woman had the sharpest jaw line she has ever seen.

They gave each other a small smile in passing as Lauren then walked out of the coffee shop. After taking a silent deep breath to try and calm her racing heart, Riley stepped up to the counter to order her own cup of coffee. That is when she noticed the ID that didn’t belong to her.

She recognized the owner as she met her just moments ago. She grabbed it to make sure though.

**Lauren Jeanne Mikaelson**

That was her. Another thought didn’t cross her mind as she instinctively ran out of the small shop to find the woman walking down the street, carrying the large bag full of coffees at her side.

“Miss Mikaelson?” Riley called out, holding up the stranger’s ID. The woman turned her head to find the woman who called her name holding up what looked like a driver’s license. “I think you might have left this.”

Lauren walked up to her, “Thank you so much. That was really kind of you.”

Riley smiled at the kind stranger, “It was no problem. I would’ve wanted someone to do the same for me if I left my ID somewhere.”

“I appreciate it,” Lauren grabbed the card and placed it into her wallet before shoving it back into her back pocket. When she looked up, Riley noticed a slight gold glimmer in Lauren’s chocolate eyes. Lauren said thanks again before walking off and then Riley headed back to the coffee shop to get her morning caffeine before heading into work.

“Hey sweetheart,” Rob greeted her as he was wiping down a few tables. “Usual?”

Riley nodded, “Yes please.” She got her card out of her bag and waited patiently as Rob walked behind the counter again and started working on her order.

“It was nice of you to hand her ID back,” Rob mentioned as he grabbed an empty cup. “I’m glad you saw it, because I for sure didn’t.”

Riley smiled, “I guess it was my good deed of the day. It seemed that you knew her, anyway.”

“I have known her family for about twenty years,” Rob explained. “She was about 7 years old when I first met her, so it has been nice to watch her grow up. Although, it does make me feel old sometimes,” he chuckled as he finished up her drink and handed it to her.

Riley smiled along as she handed over her card, only one thought in her head. She could’ve sworn that Lauren’s eyes turned a slight bit of gold before turning back to brown. Would the sunlight actually do that?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to cook up! If you guys have any ideas for what you want to see in the story, please let me know! I can see if I can put it into the plot!   
> Enjoy!!

The moment keeps appearing in Riley’s head. The slight bit of gold shimmer glimmering within chocolate pools. She has tried not thinking about it or even brushing it off as the sun shining into her eyes, but there was something within her telling her that wasn’t it.

_It’s been two days._

She tried thinking about anything else. She has tried focusing on work. Her team had their presentation to the Department Head of Marketing yesterday morning and it went really well. Actually, Riley couldn’t have asked for a better response. He really loved it and basically promised her another promotion after her second year is completed.

She should be excited about the response she received, but it wasn’t doing it for her.

She rolled over in her bed and grabbed her phone.

**7:13 AM**

She sighed and pulled her comforter off her body and changed into some running clothes. There was a hiking trail near her apartment that she liked to go to and usually run a few miles. She hasn’t been able to go out there in a while, so she hopes she can last at least two miles.

After changing, she grabbed her headphones, phone, keys, and wallet. She was debating calling out to Raegan telling her she would be on a run, but last time she did that, she had a pillow flown at her and a very angered Raegan telling her to keep it down.

Riley smiled at the memory and made sure to quietly shut the door behind her.

*****

The sound of her heart beating pounded through her whole body and the cool morning air burned her lungs as she just finished her third mile. She was honestly surprised she was able to keep this up.

She looked down at her watch and saw that the time wasn’t that bad either.

**21:27:52**

Her feet pounded the dirt, and she made sure to lift her legs high enough over some tree roots. This was much better than running on asphalt. No matter how much she loves the city, she doesn’t love running in it. There is too much commotion, and it’s not the fresh air that she wanted.

She was just about to turn the corner in the trail, lost in her thoughts when all of a sudden, she almost ran into someone.

Lauren.

“Oh, shit,” Riley exclaimed as she gasped for air. Her lungs were already on fire from the running, but now it was hard to breathe from getting scared half to death.

“Sorry about that,” Lauren breathed out. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just going on a run myself.”

Riley nodded as she saw that Lauren was also in running clothes; although she had skin tight leggings instead of shorts. She couldn’t help but think how great the material hugs her legs. Her leg muscles looked lean and tight, like she works out all the time. Lauren’s arms were also built. Riley saw how the biceps flexed with each movement and she couldn’t help herself from looking down her forearm to find the woman’s veins popping out slightly.

She breathed out another deep breath before raising her hands over her head.

“You alright?” The black-haired beauty raised her eyebrow in question.

Riley nodded once again, “I just haven’t been on a run in a while.”

Lauren peeped over to where her watch screen stated that she just started her fourth mile. “And you run 4 miles straight out of the gate?” She teased with a small smile.

Riley couldn’t help but smile in return, “Yeah, I had a lot on my mind and it helps to run.” She took this opportunity to look into Lauren’s eyes and there they were, the deep chocolate eyes. Not a bit of gold shimmer was in sight.

_So, it must have been the sun, then._

Lauren nodded her head in agreement, “I understand. I usually run on this trail every morning to help clear my head. I’ve been doing it for years.”

_That is why she is in such great shape._

“But this is interesting,” Lauren continued. “I haven’t seen you at all in the area before the other day and here we are running into each other again.” She gave a teasing smile.

“Yeah,” Riley suddenly became very shy. She hasn’t felt this way in a very long time and she can’t believe it’s with someone she barely even knows. “Maybe it’s fate.”

At those last few words, she internally chastised herself.

_Really?_

Lauren offered her a kind smile, “Maybe. Listen, I have to head back, but it was nice seeing you again.”

“Yeah, you too,” Riley sighed softly to herself. It was hard to look Lauren in the eyes now. Yes, Lauren is extremely gorgeous, but there was just something about the woman in front of her making her all nervous.

With a final wave, Lauren was off running down the path, leaving Riley now literally face palming into her right hand.

“I can’t believe I just embarrassed myself in front of her,” She mumbled to herself. “Who the hell says ‘maybe it’s fate’?” the brunette mocked herself.

_It’s fine. It’s not like I’ll see her again._

*****

“You know what I need?” Raegan questioned, taking off her coat and placing her purse on the side table by the front door. She just got off of a Saturday shift and both women had the day off tomorrow. “A drink.”

Reagan looked up from the book she was reading, “We have drinks on the bar over there.” She pointed over towards their wet bar in the corner of their apartment. “I just bought more liquor last week.”

Raegan sighed, “But I want hot bartender drinks.”

Riley closed her book and leaned back on the couch, “Hot bartender drinks?”

Raegan groaned, “Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve had good bartender drinks! We can head out to the Monkey Loft! It’s easily the best night club in the city.”

Riley sighed, “I don’t know Rae.”

“C’mon,” Raegan sat down next to her. “When’s the last time you’ve been out on the town?”

Riley then got to thinking. It’s been a while since the last time she went out with her best friend, and it would help get her mind off things. She sighed, “I guess.”

Raegan jumped off the couch and ran into Riley’s room, “You have to wear something really good! Do you still have that lacy top? I think that will be perfect.”

When Riley walked into the room, she found Raegan rummaging through her closet. Raegan then pulled out the small lacy maroon tank top that made Riley feel like she needed to wear a lot more clothing.

“This is perfect,” Raegan exclaimed. She also pulled out high waisted black skinny jeans. “You should wear this and then curl your hair a little. Slight beach waves would look smoking hot!”

Riley was a little skeptical. Not only did she prefer staying in rather than going out, but she also liked coverage. Stepping out of her comfort wasn’t her thing, but maybe it was what she needed tonight.

“Alright,” She grabbed the clothes and walked over to her bathroom to start heating up her curling iron. “What are you going to wear?” She called out to Raegan, but there was no answer.

“Raegan?”

“In here!” Raegan called out from her bedroom down the hall. “I already knew what I was going to wear, just in case I was able to persuade you to go out tonight with me.”

Riley laughed. Of course, she did.

*****

The sound of the bass shook Riley’s body before they even crossed the street. They decided to take a cab just in case they had too much to drink and won’t be able to drive home. Once Raegan paid the cab fee, they walked across the black pavement and headed towards the building. Upon walking in, they gave the bouncers their ID so they made sure they were of legal drinking age before allowing them access.

Before Riley knew it, Raegan was already dancing on the dance floor with some dude while Riley was nursing a tequila sunrise. She looked down at her phone for a quick second to check to see if there were any notifications, but there were none.

Besides Raegan and her parents, she really doesn’t have anyone else. Her and Raegan didn’t have a huge friend group. It was mainly them two throughout school and their college years. Besides the flings each of them had, there were no other people besides the two. Sometimes it was really nice because it was quiet, and being an introvert, it was a great feeling. Other times, she wishes she was more social with people to kind of branch out and make more friends.

She can’t have just Raegan all her life, can she? Is it bad that she is questioning that?

Other than Raegan, her parents are all she has got left. She is also an only child, so she didn’t have any siblings growing up. Her parents also in the city, but with all of their busy schedules, it is really hard to get together for a dinner. Now that she is thinking about it, she should call her mom in the morning to set something up. She hasn’t seen them in a while.

After shoving her phone in her pocket, she looked over to the right where someone just sat down a few stools away and ordered an Old Fashioned.

Riley couldn’t believe her eyes, but after running into the gorgeous woman three times now within seventy-two hours, she wasn’t able to forget her face. Not to mention that the gorgeous woman is all she could think about.

Lauren was wearing the same leather jacket as she wore in the coffee shop the other day, but now it was mixed with gray skinny jeans and a white V-neck.

Lauren thanked the bartender as she received her drink, then looked at her phone. Riley assumed something made her annoyed as she was able to see the darker-haired woman clench her jaw before shutting off her phone and taking a swing of her drink. That is when the woman looked over to her left and noticed Riley looking at her.

Lauren smirked, “Well look who it is, once again.” She got off her stool and grabbed her drink. She then walked over to the stool right next to Riley and raised her eyebrow. “Is anyone sitting here?”

No words were able to form. All she was able to do was lose herself in Lauren’s presence. It must be the alcohol.

Finally, she shook her head. “Uh-no. You can sit,” Riley coughed out.

Lauren sat down and took another sip of her drink. Riley looked over and saw Lauren’s brown eyes peer over her glass. She was looking over at her too.

“So,” Lauren started. “It must be fate.”

Riley then looked over, confused as to what Lauren was getting at. “What do you mean?”

“I have never run into the same person three different times at three different places within a few days.” Lauren shrugged, “So, it looks like you’re right. It’s also not like Seattle is a small city.”

Riley agreed, “Yeah, I guess.” She offered Lauren a smile.

“So, what are you doing here?”

Riley turned in her stool and pointed to her best friend, dancing with the same random dude from before. “You see her?”

Lauren followed her gaze and nodded.

“That’s my best friend and roommate,” Riley turned back around. “She is the reason why I am here and dressed the way I am.” She gestured towards her outfit.

Lauren gave her a side gaze and Riley noticed her eyes becoming really dark. A lot darker than she has seen them the other two times.

“Then, I guess I should introduce myself to her and tell her thank you,” Lauren said nonchalantly before finishing her drink. She gestured towards the bartender to make her another one and looked back over. “So, I know this is our third meeting and you know my name, but I don’t even know yours.”

Riley widened her eyes, but also came to the same realization. “Oh, it’s Riley. Riley Anderson.” She paused, “Lauren Mikaelson, correct?”

Lauren nodded, “That’s me. What do you do here in the wonderful city of Seattle?”

“I’m a Marketing Manager of my company’s Marketing and Social Media Department,” Riley explained while playing with her glass.

Lauren hummed, “Is that what you studied in school?”

Riley nodded, “Yeah, I majored in it and graduated a few years ago from Washington State and then moved back here for my job.”

“Have you always lived here?” Lauren questioned.

Riley nodded, “Yeah I was bored and raised here. My mom and dad met at Washington State as well, and they settled down in Seattle.”

Lauren nodded and shifted in her seat, “So, Seattle is all you know?”

“Pretty much,” Riley shrugged. “I haven’t gotten out much besides college.”

Lauren smirked, “Oh really? Nights out with frat boys and alcohol?”

Riley blushed, “More like the sorority girls.”

Lauren looked over with a stunned expression, but it was quickly wiped off with a smirk, “Well, that- “she coughed “that’s interesting.”

It was Riley’s turn to finally tease the other woman, “Interesting?” She didn’t know where this new confidence was coming from. She was on her third drink of the night and being a lightweight, it was probably the alcohol taking its toll on her.

“Uh- “, Lauren stammered. “Yeah, I just had a stupid assumption that you weren’t into girls.”

Riley hummed. She didn’t have anything else to say to here, but after Lauren’s reaction, she has the feeling that the darker-haired girl is also gay.

“What about you?”

The question apparently surprised Lauren because she sort of got awoken from whatever thoughts she was having, “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Riley began. “Where are you from? Did you go to school?”

Lauren shook her head, “Oh no, not me. School is not my thing. Once I finished high school, I was done with the whole education thing.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Riley reassured. “School isn’t for anybody. So, what do you do now?”

Lauren paused and clenched her jaw, “Well, um- “

“Riley!”

A woman’s voice came up from behind them. Raegan’s arms hooked around the two women and pulled them closer to her.

“Riley, what are you doing? We are supposed to be dancing!” Raegan then looked over at the other woman at the bar, “Who is this, Riles?”

Lauren looked over at Riley with patient eyes. It looked like she was waiting on her to explain to her best friend.

“Rae, this is Lauren,” Riley gestured between the two women, “Lauren, this is Raegan, my best friend.”

It was at this time that Raegan got a good look at the woman she didn’t know. “Well, Lauren, I hope my Riles over here has been keeping you great company.” Raegan glanced over at Riley and gave her a wink. “Has Riley over here mentioned that she is single?”

Lauren shook her head with a small smile before glancing over at the now embarrassed woman. “No, she has not.”

“Well,” Raegan started. “She is very much single and even though she says she is off the market,” she then lowered her voice into a whisper, “I know she is very much in the market, but is too stubborn to do anything about it.”

Lauren raised an eyebrow, “Oh really?”

Riley started to feel her face heat up and she knew that this was not from the alcohol. Raegan nodded and held out her hand asking for Lauren’s phone. As Lauren went to grab her phone from her back pocket, she kept her eyes on Riley, in sort of awaiting her permission or approval.

Riley didn’t say anything, instead she just watched the interaction between the two as Raegan typed in her phone number into Lauren’s phone. When Lauren received her phone back, she looked at it briefly before putting it back into her back pocket.

“Well, I have to get going anyway, so Raegan, you can have her back,” Lauren got up from her stool and grabbed her wallet out of her other pocket. She reached into it and grabbed a small wad of cash to cover her bill plus a tip for the bartender and placed it onto the bar next to Riley.

“By the rate we are going anyway, I will probably run into you shortly,” Lauren winked at Riley before excusing herself and walking out of the bar and into the cool night.

“So?” Raegan wiggled her eyebrows up and down, “What did you think?”

Riley shrugged, “I really still don’t know her well, so thanks, but I’m not sure anything is going to come out of it.”

“What do you mean?” Raegan questioned.

Riley shrugged, “I’m not sure. I just don’t know yet.”

“Well,” Raegan stated as she stood up, “You still owe me a few dances anyway.” She grabbed Riley’s hand and pulled her over to the dance floor, but no matter how hard the bass hit or how much alcohol she consumed, the black-haired beauty was still on her mind. She didn’t know why, nor did she complain about it. Lauren was gorgeous and mysterious, and she was hoping to get more time to get to know her.


	3. Chapter 3

The sound of two people talking right outside her door is what woke Riley up from her slumber. Her head began pounding as soon as her eyes slowly opened, but then she closed them again and raised her hand to her temple. The pounding was so hard, she could feel it through her fingertips. She tried opening them up again, but all she was able to see for a few moments were blurry images of what looked like her room. She glanced down and even though she couldn’t remember it, she was wearing comfier clothes than the ones she went out last night.

“Fuck,” she moaned lightly as she started to feel her stomach turning queasy. Usually, after a night of drinking, she was good and always ate food that would help soak the alcohol up along with a bottle of water and two aspirin. With how she was feeling, she either didn’t do the routine or she drank a lot more than what she thought she did.

She reached over to her phone on the nightstand and picked it up. There were a few notifications on her lock screen but one stood out in particular from an unknown number.

****Hey, it’s Lauren. I had fun tonight.** **

She saw that she received it around midnight, but never opened it. She glanced at the time on the top of her phone.

****11:18** **

“Raegan,” She groaned out. Her legs felt like led as she struggled to bring them around to the side of her bed. She sat up for a few seconds before standing and walking slowly over to her door. Upon opening, she discovered a scene that she did not ever want to see, especially hungover.

At least Raegan was alive and well, but the kicker was that she had her tongue down a guy’s throat. He wasn’t the same guy that she was dancing with while she was talking to Lauren, but then again, she didn’t remember what happened after the black-haired beauty left.

She cleared her throat and the two immediately separated. Raegan’s face turned the slightest shade of pink and the guy just took a deep breath but remained calm and collected.

“Riley, you’re awake!” Raegan exclaimed, “You can finally meet Liam because we all know you were too gone last night to even recall much of anything.”

Riley offered a small smile, “Hey Liam, I’m Riley. Whatever was said last night wasn’t me, I promise.”

“Ah, no worries,” Liam smiled back with a small wave. The man was gorgeous, she couldn’t deny that. His hair was a little long with a slight wave to it. It fit him well. His dark green eyes contrasted nicely with his tanned skin and chiseled facial structure. He had the slightest bit of stubble on his face as it looked like it was just recently trimmed. His dark hair held a bit of highlight near the top of his head, which indicated to Riley that maybe they were sun-bleached by being outside a lot. It would also explain the sun-kissed tan of his skin.

“I’m Liam, Liam Edwards,” he offered a hand out to her and she took it. “Hey, I’m Riley Anderson.”

Liam had a bit of recognition on his face for a split second before his face turned back to neutral. Riley caught the brief facial expression, but she knew better now not to overthink little things when talking to strangers, or else she would be nonstop thinking about it.

Raegan smiled at the two, and then fixed her hair that was a little messed up from what Riley assumed a long night with Liam. She then walked over to their kitchen and started making herself a cup of coffee as the two started talking. Liam had to leave so he gathered the last of his things and took off, leaving Reagan sighing happily at the door he just left out of.

“He seems nice,” Riley peered over her coffee mug at her best friend. “Did you two have a good night?”

Raegan moaned, “Girl, I’m surprised you didn’t wake up. It was amazing. He did this thing with his- “

“Hold it,” Riley held up a hand. “I don’t want to know all the details.”

Raegan shrugged, “Your loss. You know, you didn’t have to be alone last night, if you just took a chance with that woman you were talking to last night at the bar.”

The brunette immediately thought about Lauren last night. “Her name is Lauren,” Riley stated as she then immediately began drinking a sip of her caffeinated drink to hide her small smile. “Lauren Mikaelson.”

Raegan gave her a small smirk as she sat down on one of their stools next to their kitchen island, “Okay, tell me more about her.”

Riley then started to explain the other morning when she first ran into Lauren at The Coffee Bean. She mentioned how Rob was talking to her about her and her family and how she left her ID on the counter. After talking through their first conversation, she started to feel her face heat up as she moved onto her embarrassing moment yesterday morning on the trail, and then their conversation last night at the bar. Raegan was smiling through the whole explanation and looking deep into Riley’s eyes looking for any further information she could get on the woman who has her best friend all caught up in her feelings.

“And now I can’t get her out of my head,” Riley continued. “I have no idea why. I meet all of these representatives and directors at work, but with this one stranger, I can’t seem to get her out of my head.”

“It’s because you are attracted to her,” Raegan explained. “I mean, she’s hot and you’re attracted. That’s nothing new, Riles.”

“Well, yeah- “She groaned. “I know that, but it’s just that I have no idea what to do from here. It’s been so long since I’ve last been with someone and I feel like I’ve lost my touch.”

Raegan scoffed, “As if! You had girls begging for you left and right during college.”

“Which was three years ago,” the nervous brunette finished for her. “Remember, I didn’t see anyone during our senior year. What if I royally fuck this up?”

“Well, for starters, did she text you?”

Riley paused and thought about the text she received last night. The moment of silence was a bit too long for Raegan’s liking, and she questioned it immediately, “Well, did she?”

Riley quickly glanced away, trying her best to refrain from the question but she doesn’t know why she tries to hide things from Raegan anymore. Her best friend knows when she’s lying or hiding something.

“I may have received a text this morning from her,” she said softly.

Reagan’s eyes widened a small smile appeared on her face, “What? Really? What did it say?”

She fished her phone out of her sweatpants pocket and showed her the white screen with the gray message.

“And you didn’t reply, because?” Raegan asked.

Riley shrugged, “I only saw it before I came out here and I didn’t know what to say. Do I respond?”

“Yes!” Raegan exclaimed, “Why wouldn’t you? Here,” Raegan grabbed the phone from her hand and started texting something.

“Rae, what are you doing?” Riley asked in a serious tone and tried to grab her phone back but Raegan swatted her hand away. “Hey, give it back!”

Raegan smiled before pressing the send button and then handed the phone back to her, “You’re welcome.”

“What did you- “she immediately grabbed the phone and read what the other woman typed out and sent.

****Good morning, I did too! We should meet up soon.** **

Riley sighed. It wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be, but she was a little nervous as to what Lauren would say. It wasn’t even a few seconds later before she saw the gray bubbles pop up.

She immediately put her phone down, scared to even look at the screen. “She’s replying.”

Raegan immediately reached for the phone, but not quick enough as Riley moved it out of her reach before she could get her hand on it. The ringing of her text tone chimed loudly indicating that Lauren’s text came through. Riley slowly flipped the phone over and saw the message pop up.

****I would like that. When are you free?** **

Riley froze and started thinking about her schedule over the next week. She was supposed to make plans with her parents to potentially have dinner one night.

“Raegan, what night are you free this week?” Riley questioned.

The curly-haired woman hummed as she got out her phone to check her schedule over the next week. “I work late on Tuesday, but Wednesday I am free. Why?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to go to dinner with me at my parent’s house. I’m sure they would love to have you.”

Raegan glanced back at the phone and pointed, “What did Lauren say?”

“She asked me when I was free, but then I remembered I wanted to call my parents to see if we wanted to do dinner with them sometime this week.”

“That sounds nice,” Raegan agreed. “I haven’t seen Everly and William in a while. Thanks, dude.”

Riley nodded and immediately called her mom. There were a few rings before she picked up the phone.

“Hey, sweetheart!”

*****

“So dinner tonight with the parents and then you have your date with Lauren tomorrow night?”

Riley sighed, “Rae, I’ve told you. It’s not a date.”

“Sure, sure.” Raegan waved her off with her hand as she looked back out at the passenger window. They were on their way to Riley’s parents’ house for dinner, and Raegan wouldn’t drop the whole ‘date with Lauren’ tomorrow.

“I just think it will be good for you to see someone,” Raegan stated. “Things are going well with Liam and I don’t want you to be the third wheel.”

Riley looked over from the driver’s seat while at a stoplight and raised her eyebrow in question, “You have known the guy for just a few days.”

“Yeah, your point? He’s been great so far.”

Riley shook her head with a small smile on her face, “I would give it some more time Rae before you get your hopes up too high. Remember the last guy? He was ‘great’ for the first month until you found out that he was cheating on you the whole time.”

“Yeah,” Reagan shrugged. “Well, I was dumb back then.”

Riley gave her a look and laughed it off as they continued driving through the city until they made it just past the city limits and ended up on the driveway of her parent’s house.

“You know,” Raegan said while looking out the passenger window at the house in front of them. “I always forget your family is rich until I come to visit your parents.”

“Really? I just don’t like to think about it.”

“How come?”

“I don’t know,” Riley shrugged. “I just hate the stereotype of rich people, especially in this city. Remember how hard it was for us to make friends in school? Everyone thought I was a snob and that you were one by association.”

“I get that. But, people need to get a grip. It’s the 21st century. People can be rich and also be nice. I swear your parents are the nicest people I have ever met in my life,” Raegan offered.

The brunette smiled at her gratefully, “Thanks.” She sighed and finally parked in the circle driveway. She looked up at the large stone house. The marble columns and staircase looked as clean as ever with rich green ivy growing neatly on the ground. It looked like it was freshly trimmed and Riley smiled at the thought of her mom wanting to do all of the gardening herself because she was too stubborn to hire a gardener. The tall windows on the bottom floor were spotless as the white side paneling looked like it has never grown a spec of mold. The black shutters on each side of the windows gleamed in the sun but were never once sun-bleached in her life.

Raegan looked over at Riley who was lost in the immense house. “Do you miss it here?” She asked. “You can say you do,” she added with a teasing smile. “I won’t be offended.”

Riley laughed and got out of the car, “Yeah. I do sometimes, but then living this sort of lifestyle wasn’t my favorite. It’s a huge house and I’ve always felt alone in it, especially when both of my parents were at work and I just got home from school. There wasn’t anyone else besides a maid or two and they were only there on certain days.” She shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind it as much if more people were living in it, but since it was only us, I never liked it as much as some people think.”

Raegan nodded and looked back up at the house, “I understand that.” The two finished getting their things from the car and walked across the gravel driveway and up onto the marble steps.

This is home.

*****

“Hey girls,” Everly said as she opened the large oak door. “Come on in! Dinner is almost ready.”

As the two girls walked into the foyer, Raegan spoke up. “Thank you for having me over for dinner Mrs. Anderson. I appreciate it.”

“Now Raegan,” Everly said with her hands on her hips and a fake stern face. “How many times have I said that you are practically family and you can just call me mom?”

Raegan chuckled as she hugged the older woman, “Thank you.”

Riley smiled at the two and then all of a sudden, she heard the loud booming voice of her father.

“Riley!” The tall man laughed out with arms open wide. “How are you, sweetheart?”

She smiled into his hug as it felt nice to hug her dad again after so long of not seeing them. Even though she loves both her parents immensely, growing up she was a lot closer with her dad.

“I’ve been good,” She spoke softly. “Just extremely busy with work.”

“Of course!” He boomed. William Anderson was tall and built, with a very little beer belly. He loved working out and she even noticed he looked bulkier than their last visit, but still the same old man she loved. Just with grayer hair now. “After your phone call with your mom the other day, she told me that you’ve got great feedback on your marketing campaign! That’s great, honey.” He then grimaced, “I’m sorry I couldn’t get on the phone. I was in a pesky meeting with one of the other board directors.”

Riley hummed, “The annoying one with the strangest ideas?”

William nodded, “Yeah, he may not last much longer if I have anything to do with it.”

“Alright, you two,” Everly ushered everyone towards the dining room where dinner was being set.

The happy family ate in peace as no one wanted to speak because they were so busy stuffing their mouths with the delicious food that the older woman cooked up.

“This is great, mom” Riley finally said as she took a break eating and took a sip of water. “You can’t beat a homecooked meal.” She looked over at Raegan and saw that her best friend was practically shoving her face with homemade baked ziti and fresh salad from the garden outside.

“Mhmm,” was all she was able to get out before finally taking a sip of her drink to wash it all down. “I don’t think Riley will ever be able to get this good.”

“Hey now!” Riley interjected. “I don’t see you attempting cooking something for us.”

“No, you’re right,” she said. “No one wants me to attempt cooking anything unless they want to have the fire station on standby.”

Everyone chuckled at that, but then they were interrupted by an alarm going off. It seemed like the kitchen TV was still on as Evelyn likes to watch the news while she cooks. They all stood up from their chairs and glanced at each other with quizzical looks as they all walked into the kitchen.

“Honey, grab that remote next to you,” Evelyn pointed to the remote on the marbled kitchen counter. Raegan grabbed the remote and turned up the volume to listen in on the breaking news announcement.

_This just in. A city-wide announcement from the Seattle Police Department. A woman who was found hiking on South Beach Trail was declared dead late this afternoon. Police have investigated the scene and have discovered that this may have been an animal attack._

The screen then turned to some pictures that were taken by the police. Riley along with the rest of her family and Raegan all inhaled sharply at the gory scene. She was surprised that they would even show it on television.

_State Troopers and Park and Wildlife are at the scene now investigating further. More details to come._

William asked for the remote and Raegan passed it over to him. He immediately started pressing rewind.

“Dad, what are you looking for?” Riley questioned.

He paused right at the scene where they showed the poor woman’s mauled body and he sighed. He brought his free hand up to his face and rubbed his forehead. It looked like he was thinking deeply about something and Riley was a little nervous to disrupt it.

Raegan didn’t care though.

“What’s wrong?” She asked with a concerned tone.

William glanced over at Evelyn and they both shared a look. Evelyn looked up at him with questioning eyes and William nodded sadly. He coughed, “We didn’t think this would be happening again.”

Riley was now very confused. What did he know that she didn’t? What was happening again? No words were coming out of her mouth, but thankfully Raegan practically asked it for her.

“What do you mean?” she asked, glancing over at Riley to see if she knew the answer. The smaller brunette just shook her head slightly and then they both looked back over to the older people in the room.

“I don’t think this is something we want to talk about right now,” her mother said, trying to avoid the subject.

“No,” her father interjected. “I think it’s time that she hears the story. With the disappearing people happening and now this, I think it is what we talked about the other night.”

Now Riley found her voice, “What’s going on? What did you guys talk about?”

Her mother sighed before holding up her hands in a defeated manner, “I just think it would be a lot for them to take in. They have been quiet for over twenty years now, Will. What if it’s not them and we bring the girls into this?”

Both girls were now more confused than ever. “If there is something you need to tell us, now would be the time,” Riley sternly stated. “I’m not a little girl anymore, and anything you say to me can be said to Raegan.”

The parents looked between both girls and then shared another look. “I think it’s time,” her father said. “They are old enough now.”

“Just tell us,” Riley begged.

William sighed. “I had this best friend growing up. We practically did everything together and we knew each other since we were practically infants, but it was when we were in our late twenties, maybe early thirties, when things started to take a turn for the worst.” He leaned up against the counter behind him and crossed his arms, “His name is Kris Mikaelson.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments! I love hearing your feedback!


	4. Chapter 4

Riley and Raegan both shared a look, fully aware that they know someone with the same last name, but Riley didn’t want to draw conclusions when she doesn’t know the woman so well.

“As you girls know,” the older man started. “I have lived in the area my entire life, so Kris and I have known each other for as long as I can remember. He was a member of a northwestern tribe led by his grandfather.” He shifted his feet, “The members of the tribe were very close and were only made up of family members and close friends.”

“Were you apart of the tribe as well?” Riley questioned. Families like that weren’t uncommon in their area. They were also very close to a lot of lands that have been passed down from generation to generation.

“To an extent,” he stated sort of hesitantly. “Alongside his family, there was another family but they called themselves a clan instead.”

“What’s the difference?” Reagan piped up from her corner of the room. “Between a clan and tribe, I mean.”

“A tribe is typically known as a socially, ethically, and politically cohesive group of people. There can be related bloodlines, but it doesn’t have to be,” he explained. “A clan is a little bit different as they are a group of people who are all descended from a common ancestor. They tend to have a stronger familial bond because they all share the same bloodline.”

“Can we all go sit down and finish the dinner?” Evelyn stated, looking over at her husband. “I’m sure everyone would be more comfortable anyway than standing around the kitchen.” Everyone nodded and gathered back around the table and continued to slowly eat.

“So, the nearby clan was named after an old ancestral name ‘Nightwalker’. The origin of the name came from when the family was in Germany many generations ago, but they lost a civil war and were exiled, so they came here, to the New World. At first, they wanted peace, but over the years their intent changed.”

“What were they looking for?” Raegan questioned.

“The Nightwalker Clan originally wanted more land, but they didn’t know that the land was already occupied by the Mikaelson family. During my time, Kris’s grandfather was the one who owned and controlled their land.” William finished what was on his plate and continued the story. “When we were still kids, Kris and the youngest Nightwalker at the time, Roman, started to become friends. I wasn’t fond of him nor his family because of the stories, so I kept my distance from him. As we grew older, Roman started acting irrationally and thinking about the beliefs of what his family thought was right.”

He cleared his throat and began again, “The tension started to grow between the two groups until there was talk about a treaty. The Nightwalker Clan already lost a civil war in Germany and many of them didn’t want to go through that again. The treaty outlined that Kris’s grandfather would offer more land if they never crossed over the territory line again.”

“Did it work?” Riley wondered.

William shook his head, “It was supposed to go into effect the next day, but some members of the Nightwalker Clan, including Roman, stormed onto the land when the sun fell and killed off a lot of the woman and children so that they wouldn’t be able to grow their population.”

Riley’s face fell, she never knew this story. Her father can be very secretive sometimes, as she has learned over the years of being his daughter.

“At the time of the attack,” her dad continued. “Kris had a wife, but when they were growing up, Roman also fancied her. When she picked Kris over him, he was angry for a while before he got his revenge.”

Evelyn brought her hand up to her chest. “I hate this part,” she mumbled.

“Roman offered her to run off with him, so they can create a family of their own. He knew that she already gave birth to Kris’s daughter, but I’m guessing she was still young enough that he thought he could bring her up as his own. Instead, the wife stayed back and refused to go with him. Things escalated and out of rage and anger, he killed her.”

The two younger women hearing the story for the first time gasped softly.

William nodded grievingly, “During the fight, there were people lost on both sides. So many people were killed that both families just stood down. There was no official treaty in place, but there were a few reasonably minded people on each side so no other fights broke out. Instead, both went back to their homes, nursed their wounds, and continued on with their lives.”

Riley hummed at the ending of the story, “So, dad, what does this have to do with the disappearances. You said that you think they are ‘back’ because of it?”

“Well,” William rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “The Nightwalker Clan is full of very bad people. I wouldn’t want anyone I know or love to have a run-in with them. They did horrible things to people based on their own personal beliefs. Only a few people left in this town know the reason, but so many people moved many years ago because of it.”

“Where were you during the fighting?” Raegan asked.

“I was here,” William informed. “I was working. I was already married to Evelyn and Riley here was barely past her toddler years, so I stayed home.”

“Wait,” Raegan took out her hands and fanned them out, sort of like she was trying to pause the conversation. “What did they do to the people? They wouldn’t do things like that, right?” She pointed over towards the TV in the kitchen, indicating the gruesome scene they saw just moments before.

“Actually yes,” Evelyn piped up from her chair. “Either they would take the bodies and no one would ever hear from them again, or they would kill them in such an animalistic way that they would look like they were mauled by a bear.”

“There are so many wild animals in some of the parks and woods surrounding the city, so the police never second-guessed it,” William stated. “And in all honesty, it’s much less work for them to declare that it was an animal attack rather than a homicide. All they do is file a report declaring it an animal that killed the person and then they dispose of the body, however the family sees fit.”

“But, what about an autopsy?” Raegan wondered. “I see insurance claims for that all the time at work. It’s a bitch to deal with, but can’t they ask to see a medical examiner?”

Willian nodded, “You’re right and some do, but in the past, the medical examiners have declared that it was indeed an animal attack, and they are expensive. Because of that, a lot of families just accept it and decline the autopsy.”

Riley nodded, “I’m surprised you never told me this story before. I never heard you mention a ‘Kris Mikaelson’ growing up.”

“I’ve always wanted to protect you,” William sighed. “You were far too young to tell the story at the time and when you were old enough, things were quiet for so long that I didn’t think any of it would be happening again.”

Nodding her head, she figured that was a good reason as to why he has never told her in the past. Recollecting her thoughts, one questioned remained and it was dealing with the dark-haired beauty that she couldn’t get out of her head. “You mentioned Kris had a daughter at the time of the attack?”

William nodded, “Oh yeah, I haven’t seen her in years though. After the attack, the Mikaelson’s sort of went into hiding.”

“I don’t blame them,” Evelyn said, and her father nodded his head in agreement. “What was her name?” She asked him.

“Ah,” he brought his hand up to his face as his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. “She has to be a little older than you now, Riley. Lauren, I believe. Lauren Mikaelson.”

She was right. She had a feeling, and she knew it, but her breath still got knocked out of her slightly. She knew Lauren. She was texting Lauren. She is supposed to go out to dinner with Lauren the following night. How is she supposed to face her after learning all of this about her family?

*****

“Nice seeing you again,” Lauren husked as she walked up to the table where Riley was nervously waiting. Ever since she got back from her parent’s house last night, she has been nonstop thinking about the story that her father told them. Was she supposed to tell Lauren that she knows her family history? How about just mention that their fathers were friends at one point? Wouldn’t that work?

_No, just stop. Breathe and try to relax._ She told herself.

“Hey,” Riley looked up and for a second, she could’ve sworn she felt a little lightheaded as she looked Lauren up and down. Her hair was in its usual style; two little braids tightly wrapped on either side of her head with the front of her hair flipped back and tied in a small ponytail at the back. The light of the diner they decided to meet at reflected off the woman’s tan skin perfectly. Her brown eyes were a little bit lighter than the last time she saw them, but they were still able to drown Riley’s own. The brown pools gleamed when they landed on the younger woman. Lauren leaned down and sat across from her on the booth.

“So, what’s good here?” She asked picking up a menu.

Riley raised an eyebrow, “You’ve never been here before?”

Lauren shook her head, “Nope.”

“Then, why did you want to go here? We could’ve gone somewhere else.”

Lauren lowered the menu so she was able to make eye contact, “No, I wanted to come here because then it would not have only been my first time here, but also ours.”

Riley started to feel her face heat up slightly from the insinuation that they were here together on a date.

_No, don’t think like that. No hopes are going up._

“So,” Lauren started up again. “How are you doing? What have you been up to since the last I saw you?”

Riley shrugged lightly, “Just work, really. I’m in the middle of a huge project at work now, so I’ve been working on that nonstop. What about you? I never really learned much about you that other night at the bar.” Riley was hoping there was some more information she can learn about the mysterious woman in front of her

“Oh, sorry about that,” Lauren waved her hand. “I had to go, there was a little family emergency.”

“Is everything okay?” Riley genuinely wondered.

Lauren nodded, “Oh yeah, everything is fine.” She cleared her throat before continuing, “I work under my dad with the family business. We live out of the city limits near some of the nature parks, so that could also be a reason as to why I don’t really come to cute little diners all the time like this one.” She raised her hands up and looked at the place, while their waitress took their drink orders.

Riley agreed, “I used to come here all the time with my dad, but that was when I was little and he wasn’t as busy. It definitely looks a lot smaller now that I am more grown-up.”

Lauren smiled, “What does your dad do?” she asked as she took a sip of her water as soon as the waitress came back. They placed their orders as the waitress took up their menus.

“He’s the owner of a huge stock company,” Riley explained as Lauren’s eyes went a little bit.

“Oh, wow,” She stated. “That’s impressive. What does your mom do?”

“She owns a few small businesses in their town, but she is opening up another location for one of them in the city, so she’s been working really hard on that.”

“What a successful little family,” Lauren stated impressed at the woman in front of her.

“Well, what about you?” Riley countered.

“Um, well, besides what I’ve already told you, my mom passed when I was a little girl so the blood family is just me and my dad. But we have several family friends that come over all the time. They are basically family, so I guess you can count them as brothers and sisters,” she explained.

“Wow, that sounds nice,” Riley smiled. “I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to have a lot of people come over. My parents have this huge house and even though I live in the city with Raegan, sometimes I wish there were more of us.”

Lauren smirked, “How do twelve brothers and five sisters sound?”

Riley practically felt her eyes bug out of her head. That’s almost twenty people in total, including Lauren. She coughed, “That’s a little on the high side for me, but still sounds way better than being an only child.”

The older woman chuckled and Riley still believes that it’s the prettiest sound she will ever hear. “Well, you will have to meet them then one day,” Lauren continued. “Living in that house can be pretty rambunctious.”

“Oh, I can see why,” Riley laughed and glanced down at Lauren’s arms that were resting casually on the table. The older woman was wearing her usual leather jacket, but with a different V-neck shirt. At this point, Riley wonders if there is anything but dark jeans and mutual toned shirts in Lauren’s closet. Not like she is complaining. She is definitely in favor of Lauren’s style.

The leather sleeve of her jacket was raised along her arm a little, showcasing a small bit of what looked like a tattoo on her forearm. Lauren’s eyes followed Riley’s and saw what she is now focused on. She then pulled her arm out of her sleeve and showcased it on the tabletop.

“This tattoo is a symbol of our family.”

“Your family?” Riley questioned. She immediately thought of the story that her father told her last night about the Mikaelson Tribe, but she didn’t want to let it slip that she knows a lot more about the woman in front of her than she is portraying.

Riley took a closer look at the tattoo in front of her. Thick black swirls and markings danced across the sun-kissed skin.

Lauren nodded, “My last name ‘Mikaelson’ originally came from an Old English origin, although some people have their own take on it. Like for example, there is a version in Hebrew meaning ‘it means to be mighty infinite lucky.” She traced over the tattoo until she got to a part where there was a small amount of script. “You see right here? This is a translation from the Old English origin where there was a Mikaelson motto, usually used as a war cry or a slogan.”

Riley looked closely at the small script. _Crescam ut prosim._

“What does it mean?” Riley wondered. She took a Latin class as a foreign language credit in high school many years ago, so she was able to recognize it as Latin, but she didn’t know what it said.

“I will increase, that I may do good,” Lauren explained. “Ever since my dad told me about it, I wanted to add it to the tattoo.”

“So, you’ve had the main part for longer?”

Lauren nodded, “I got it when I turned eighteen as everyone does when they enter the tribe.”

Riley wondered if this was a good time to say what she knows or even play dumb so she can get Lauren’s side of the story. She decided to play dumb.

“The tribe?”

“Yeah, it’s really just who I’ve mentioned before. The twelve brothers and five sisters?” she smiled. Riley nodded. “Yeah, it’s sort of a family mark or symbol, I guess.”

“It looks great,” Riley whispered. “Beautiful even.” She looked up from underneath her lashes and noticed that Lauren gave her a small smile. She reached over and lightly grazed the soft skin. She could’ve sworn she heard the older woman let out a small shudder at her touch, but she didn’t stop. Her fingertips outlined each of the thick lines that branched out and around the emblem.

“Do each of you have the same design?”

Lauren nodded, “The design is similar. Each starts out the same, but each tattoo represents each of them in a certain way. One day, you’ll meet them and they can show you. But, only my dad and I have the Mikaelson motto scripted into it somewhere.”

“Are you two the only Mikaelson members?” Riley asked knowing that she may be right based on the knowledge she received from her dad.

Lauren nodded once again, “My mom died from a heart attack when I was younger, but I remember a few things. How she smiled, how she laughed, what she smelled like.”

The younger woman wondered if Lauren knew the actual truth or she just says that to people she doesn’t truly know yet. But one thing is for sure, she knew that Lauren misses her. She turned her hand over and grabbed the muscled forearm and squeezed it a few times. She knows she hasn’t known the older woman for long, but she can’t deny the connection they have with one another. No one she has ever met has she felt this way about them. It’s actually really scary.

Lauren glanced up and smiled at the other woman gratefully but the sweet moment didn’t last long as their waitress came over with their freshly made food. After both of them saying thank you, the waitress offered them both a smile and turned around to help another table.

“This looks really good,” Lauren said as she looked down at her freshly grilled burger and steak fries. Riley agreed as she looked down at her own food.

The two women were only a few bites into their food before the small TV above the bar made an alarm that everyone in the city has become all too familiar with. One of the waitresses reached behind the counter and grabbed the TV’s remote to turn up the volume for the customers.

_This just in. A city-wide announcement from the Seattle Police Department. The investigation of the woman who was found dead hiking on South Beach Trail on Wednesday afternoon_ _has concluded. The woman was found to be 23-year-old Chloe Garcia. After a close investigation with a medical examiner, an unknown venom was found in her bloodstream._

Riley put down her food and listened closely to the TV. She glanced over at Lauren who she noticed was clenching her teeth so tightly, that the muscle tension was causing a tight bulge on the side of her face.

_A new private medical examiner who chooses not to disclose her information will now take over the investigation and autopsy report. No further updates from this investigation will be released out to the public._

Riley raised an eyebrow at the final statement, but when she looked over at Lauren, the older woman looked relieved, almost happy even.

_What in the world is going on?_

Lauren immediately took out her phone and started texting rapidly. The silence may have been awkward with other people, but while Lauren was busy, Riley was just trying to connect all of the dots.

“Hey, sorry about this, but I’m going to have to leave- “Lauren started but abruptly stopped. She was halfway out of the booth before she stopped and looked over at Riley. Their food was barely touched and it would’ve been the second time she would’ve had to leave Riley hanging while she went off and dealt with her family.

Riley tried offering Lauren a small smile, but on the inside, she was sort of hurt. She understood, but by being a curious person, it was becoming frustrating with the mysterious woman in front of her. She tried not to feel upset about it, but she couldn’t help the heavy feeling in her chest.

“Fuck it,” Lauren whispered to herself, but Riley overheard. The younger woman looked up and saw that Lauren was fishing in her back pocket for her wallet. She grabbed some cash out of it and placed it down on the table. Riley glanced over at the bills and saw that the amount of cash Lauren threw down was more than enough for both of their meals plus a generous tip.

Lauren reached her hand out to the smaller woman still sitting on the booth. “I may regret this later on, but do you want to come with me?”

Riley gave her questioning eyes, “Go with you? Where?”

“Uh- “Lauren stammered, “There is another family emergency. Remember how I wanted you to meet the rest of my family?”

Riley nodded, still unsure where this was going.

“How about now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think?
> 
> Don't forget to leave kudos and comment on your thoughts! Thank you for reading! I hope you like the update!


	5. Chapter 5

Raegan looked at the outstretched hand in front of her. It was relaxed and seemed very inviting. She took a second to think over the last few seconds. Lauren wanted her to meet her family.

_ Now? _

She has never met the family so quickly in any relationship she has ever had. It was a little weird how Lauren was so open to it as the black-haired woman has been more mysterious than anything. It was hard for Riley to fully understand her, but maybe by meeting her family, she would be able to understand a little more.

She reached up and met the soft, warm hand with hers. Lauren gently raised her out of the booth and led her out of the small diner. They walked over to one of the parking spaces which held a black Jeep Wrangler. Riley didn’t know cars, but it seemed like it was a newer model. Lauren opened the passenger door for her and she graciously sat in the passenger seat.

_ Yeah, it’s definitely a newer model.  _ She thought as she caught her eyes on the large screen in the middle of the console on the dash. The truck was also equipped with 4-wheel drive, heated seats, bluetooth, and many other gadgets that looked unfamiliar to her.

Lauren looked over at her, “Are you okay with this? I’m sorry if it seems a little forward.”

“No,” Riley shook her head. “I think it will be nice to see your family. You haven’t talked about them much.”

“Well, then let’s go.” She drove out of the parking lot and they were on their way. It wasn’t long before they reached the city limits and crossed over into small towns. Riley looked around and before she knew it, she was in a place where she hasn’t been before. Buildings had started to become harder to come across as wood line and trees became all what was in her sight.

The ride was silent, but it wasn’t awkward. Riley’s thoughts were full of questions about the woman who was sitting next to her and how she had started to act weirdly when the news broadcasted in the diner. She glanced over at Lauren. She wishes she could read her mind and know what she was thinking. Her dark eyebrows were furrowed a little in concentration, but her eyes continued on the road ahead of her, making sure they got to their destination safely.

Before long, they turned onto a winding gravel road. The entrance was so small and covered with branches and grass, that she didn’t even realize it was a road to begin with. It was a little ways down the road before Riley was able to see a rooftop to a house.

She didn’t think there would be a house this huge and gorgeous in the middle of the woods. The first thing she noticed was the warm ambient lighting coming from the massive structure. The sun was beginning to set and the lighting made the house glow. Light washed stones covered the front while dark wood panelling accented nicely. Floor to ceiling windows covered some areas, making the house look bigger and more open.

“You live here?” Riley asked in astonishment.

Lauren chuckled, “Yeah, I like it.”

“Like it?” She looked up the house as they turned onto the black pavement of the driveway. “I love it and I haven’t even been inside.”

Lauren drove up the driveway and opened one of the two garage doors with the remote on her visor. The oak paneled door rose up swiftly and showcased an all concrete garage. It seemed like the place was big enough for at least four cars. The older woman slowly pulled into the garage and turned off the Jeep.

She sighed and slid her seatbelt off, “Here we are.”

Riley continued taking in her surroundings and before she knew it, Lauren was already by her side opening the car door for her. The black-haired woman offered her hand to aid her out of the truck. Riley kindly took it as she continued looking around.

She noticed there was a floor to ceiling footlocker bolted to the far wall. It was closed and had a thick combination lock in place around a thick chain, keeping the door shut. Next to it was a large door, probably leading to another room. The door was so large that it was probably easy for a horse to walk through. She noticed this one was also chained and locked as well.

She didn’t question it though. She didn’t feel close enough yet to Lauren or her family to question what they keep in their garage. Lauren softly closed her hand around hers and guided her towards a much smaller door, one that was built for a human.

“Right through here,” Lauren said softly. “I also apologize in advance for my family. Sometimes they can be a little much.”

“I’m sure it will be fine,” she smiled as they walked through the door. It opened up to a very large and open floor plan. There was a tiny hallway leading out towards the huge kitchen, dining area, and living room.

The kitchen was large enough to probably provide food for a small restaurant. Dark granite countertops with dark oak cabinets and doors flooded the area. There was even a kitchen island with a waterfall countertop that held a large black farmhouse sink. On the other side of the kitchen held another sink in the same style along with stainless steel appliances. She glanced over towards a small area in the kitchen that led to what looked like a butler’s pantry and a bar area. On the edge of the kitchen where it met the dining area was a bar and a few bar stools placed neatly underneath the counter.

The dining room had a very long dark oak table that easily held almost two dozen people. She wasn’t kidding about the large family. Surrounding the table were a plethora of same styled dining room chairs and two long benches on either side. Larger and more extravagant chairs were placed on each of the table, signifying that important people sat there.

On the other side of her was a small breakfast nook with a round table that was the same furnished wood as the dining table.

The room led into a large living area with two large L-shaped couches, a loveseat, and a few recliners. One thing’s for sure, there was a lot of seating in this house. All furniture was arranged in such a fashion that it focused on the large flatscreen TV mounted on the wall. Below it was a shelf that held what looked like video game equipment. Below that was a large stone fireplace with a small black iron screen.

“Laur?” A male’s voice yelled down the stairs. Whoever it was came down each step before just hopping over the railing like it was nothing.

Riley widened her eyes a bit, but it was not long after when more people came downstairs and from other rooms on the first level of the house.

“She’s home!” Another male’s voice called out.

“Did you hear about Dr. Roberts?” Another one questioned.

Only a few seconds had passed before Riley and Lauren were surrounded. All the people around them quieted down as they noticed another woman with their sister.

“Who’s this, Lauren?” The guy that jumped the railing asked. He was a tall and built blonde with a bit of a beard. He looked like he may have been around the same age as Lauren. 

“Asher,” Lauren looked around, “Everyone, this is Riley.”

Riley looked around at all the people around them and Lauren made sure the younger woman wasn’t looking before she gave all of them a look. A few of them seemed to have nodded in agreement and everyone started to relax more. Some went over by the couches and chairs and took a seat. Others gathered around the edge of the room next to the floor to ceiling windows that Riley saw as they drove in.

“Laur?” A husky and deep voice came out from the crowd. A tall gray-haired man came from the other room and gave Lauren a brief hug before glancing over to the smaller woman next to her. “Who is this?” He asked as he offered out a hand. Riley shook it in greeting and smiled up at him.

“Hi, I’m Riley Anderson,” she stated. “I’m Lauren’s…” She glanced over towards the black-haired woman next to her briefly. “...friend,” she finished, thinking that friend was even a stretch.

The older guy seemed to have frozen a bit before giving her a small smile and then looked over at the other woman next to her. They exchanged a look and it seemed like they were having a small conversation, but no words were being spoken.

He looked back at her, “Nice to meet you. I’m Kris Mikaelson, Lauren’s father.”

Recognition appeared on her face as she immediately remembered him from the story her father told her just yesterday. So, this is the man that she knew so much about but also barely knew.

“So, Laur, is this the one?” One guy shouted from the other side of the room in a teasing tone. Lauren then whipped around quickly and gave him a stern look. Riley could’ve also sworn that a small growl came from her throat, but she wasn’t sure she was hearing things right. The other guy who looked a little younger than Lauren, maybe around Riley’s age then stepped down and immediately looked sorry.

Kris cleared his throat behind them, “Everyone, don’t we need to head out soon?”

Some people groaned while others immediately stood up and started heading outside. Asher, the tall and fit blonde guy came over and greeted Riley.

“Hey, I’m Asher,” he greeted. “I’m one of Lauren’s brothers. Don’t worry about some of them,” he gestured towards some of the people that already walked out, one of them including the guy that teased them. “Some of them, you may have to just ignore.” He gave out a joking smile and Riley felt at ease. 

On the way over, she built up her nerves as she has never met anyone’s family this early in any relationship, even friends. She was friends with Raegan for at least a few weeks before she met her mom so many years ago.

Someone that she recognized then came over. Liam.

“Liam?” She questioned. He looked over and for sure, it was the same guy that Raegan has slept with and been seeing for the past few days. 

He gave her an easy smile, “I didn’t know you knew Lauren.” He then looked up and gave Lauren a similar look that her father gave her. It seemed like they were also having a conversation, but again, no words were being exchanged. Liam nodded his head before muttering a quick goodbye and then also stepping outside.

The only ones left in the house were Kris, Lauren, and Riley.

Kris cleared his throat, “I guess I will leave you two to it. Oh and Lauren, we will talk about Dr. Roberts when we get back.”

Lauren nodded as Riley recognized the name when someone shouted it out earlier. She didn’t know who this woman was, but either way, it sounded important to them. Kris then walked out the door, and from that moment on it was complete silence. Riley noticed that she didn’t even hear cars start up and leave, but she wouldn’t be surprised if their house was also equipped with soundproof walls.

“So, who is Dr. Roberts?” Riley questioned.

Lauren shook her head, “Just a medical professional that works for my dad.”

Riley automatically thought that there was more to the story. Everything has just been so weird for that to be it, but she didn’t question it. She wanted Lauren to trust her and tell her more about herself, but she wanted it by her terms.

Lauren sighed and Riley met her eyes. They seemed hesitant, like if Lauren was debating something. Instead, she held out her hand and Riley took it. It may have been the third or fourth time she has grabbed onto Lauren’s hand today, and she could get used to the warmth that her body radiated. Her hands were also super soft and they felt good against her own.

She guided the two towards the loveseat in the corner. Lauren sat down, but didn’t let go of the younger girl’s hand.

“Listen, Riley,” Lauren softly spoke out. “There are a lot of things about me and my family that are well,” she hesitated, “different.”

Riley nodded, “Okay, just tell me.”

Lauren raised an eyebrow, “I don’t think that may be the best option. It’s not just about me. It’s about where I come from, my father, why I have so many brothers and sisters-”

“My father has told me the story,” Riley uttered quickly. “He mentioned that he knew Kris when they were younger. He said that they were really close, and since I was curious, he told me the story.” She thought she should just tell Lauren that she knows more than what she was letting out. She wanted Lauren to trust her and she just felt that it was wrong that she was keeping information that she knew about her and her family to herself.

Squinting her eyes a little, Lauren seemed hesitant. “He told you what exactly?”

“Well, he said that-”

Riley was unable to finish her sentence as Lauren immediately shot up and looked outside the closest window. The younger woman now hated the long floor to ceiling windows because she felt like she was exposed. She tried to see what Lauren may be looking at, but she couldn’t see past the glare that the inside lights produced on the glass.

“Riley,” Lauren stated sternly. She doesn’t think she has ever heard the older woman say her name and she wasn’t complaining. It felt natural leaving her lips. “This may come off as weird, but I need you to hide.”

“Hide?”

“Yes,” she shrugged off her leather jacket and handed it over to her. “Wear this, too.”

Riley has never been more confused than what she felt like now. Why does she need to hide and wear her jacket? “What the fuck?”

Lauren gave her pleading eyes, “Please, just do this? For me? I need you to hide, now.”

Riley couldn’t help her heart from sinking. She wanted to know and she was trying to understand Lauren’s life, but she felt like she was about to crack at one of her layers when they were now interrupted.

Riley took the jacket and draped it over her shoulders. It was a bit bigger than a size she would get, but a sudden warmth came over her. All of a sudden, Lauren’s scent swarmed into her nose and she felt at peace. Lauren scurried outside as she looked around for a room where she could hide in, but that didn’t feel right.

Instead of listening to Lauren’s request, she followed her outside and ended up on a first-story porch. She found some outdoor furniture that she could hide behind, but also figure out what is going on.

She turned her head and she found Lauren walking up to a dark figure. A man.

Riley didn’t recognize him to be anyone that she saw in the house, and she had a feeling that this guy wasn’t invited, based on Lauren’s posture. The older woman stopped walking until there was still at least a couple of dozen feet between the two.

“What do you want?” Lauren questioned.

“Well, well, well,” The man stated and Riley felt chills move down her spine. She already didn’t like how his voice sounded. “So, I heard about your newest addition.”

“What do you mean?” Lauren asked.

The man laughed, “C’mon Lauren, we both know who I am talking about.”

“She works for my father,” Lauren explained and Riley figured she was talking about the new medical professional they were talking about earlier.

The man scoffed, “We all know that’s a bunch of bull. We know who she is.”

“Axel,” Lauren sighed. “I really don’t know much about her either. I just came back from the city and I was going to talk to my father about her, but they left.”

The man, Axel, huffed, “And you didn’t go with? The Mikaelson Tribe without their alpha?”

_ Alpha?  _

Before Riley could think about it anymore, Lauren continued to talk.

“They have my father. He can take over when I can’t.”

“Wouldn’t that go to Asher?”

“Axel,” Lauren sighed. “What are you doing here?”

Riley turned her head to take a look at the man that the older woman was speaking to. He was a little shorter than most men she has seen. He looked like he stood more around Lauren’s height, but he was also built, but more lean than anything else. His hair was flipped up stylishly and was cut into a low fade. 

_ Why has everyone she has seen in Lauren’s life all really good looking? _

“We know she’s working for you now,” Axel stated. “Just know that.”

Lauren nodded, “Okay, is that everything?”

“Oh,” Axel walked forward a few steps until he was right in front of her, “and stay out of our way.”

“What is your father up to?” Lauren countered.

Axel extended his arms out to the side, “Something greater than anything created, and I will say it again. If you and your pack get in our way, it won’t end up good for you and your human.”

Riley felt her breath catch in her throat. She had a feeling he was talking about her. Lauren didn’t say anything.

“You really think I’m stupid don’t you?” Axel questioned. “Whatever you tried to do didn’t work Lauren. Human, come on out!” He yelled in a sing-song voice. “I can smell you!”   


“Leave her out of this,” Lauren growled. Riley didn’t move a muscle and slowed her breath to try and calm her racing heartbeat.

“Oh, she’s a girl?” Axel scoffed, “I’m honestly not surprised, you’ve always seemed to me that you would have a girl for a mate. Does she even know about you? About us?”

“You need to leave,” Lauren said more sternly. Riley’s confusion has just been rising as more and more questions filled her mind. 

“Oh, but why? I think she deserves to know about us.” He paused. “I can see you!”

Riley froze.

“Come on out,” Axel yelled out and Riley couldn’t help herself but feel compelled to stand up.

Axel hummed, “She’s hot. I’ll give you that.”

Lauren growled, “She is none of your concern. You need to leave.”

Riley could tell that Lauren was getting more and more pissed as moments passed. 

“Don’t want to show her who you really are?” Axel teased. “Are you scared she will leave you once she knows who you are?”

Riley may not know what Axel or even Lauren is talking about, but one thing she knows for sure is that she won’t leave. In all honesty, she is more curious about everything than anything else. 

“Leave,” Lauren’s voice changed suddenly. A deep roar ripped through her throat and the voice that Riley knows was long gone. A deeper, huskier sound replaced the soothing voice she has grown to like. 

Axel shrugged his shoulders and smirked slyly, “You can’t have her all to yourself. Why don’t we repeat a little history while we are here? Isn’t that what happened to your mother?”

Even Riley knew that was a low blow, but her thoughts were interrupted by seeing smoke rise up from Lauren’s shoulders and before she knew what was happening, the person that Riley knew as Lauren was nowhere in sight. In her place was a large wolf, about the size of a horse, huffing and standing tall at the man in front of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading! What did you think?


	6. Chapter 6

Riley couldn’t believe her eyes. The large black wolf pawed the ground and roared at Axel, who easily transformed into a light cream colored wolf with gray tones covering its paws and tail. His clothes ripped to shreds as he became an animal at least three times the size of his human form.

The black wolf, Lauren she assumed, charged at Axel, who was a little smaller. She didn’t know what to do but duck behind the furniture again although she couldn’t bring herself to look away. Low growls filled the air as both animals were now snarling at each other. Both sets of teeth were barred and even from far away, she could see that each tooth could easily be the size of her hand.

Since Axel was smaller, he was able to squirm underneath Lauren’s charge. Lauren whipped her body around, but she wasn’t quick enough. Axel jumped and dug his front claws into Lauren’s back, near her shoulder, making her howl in pain.

Riley wanted to do something but she didn’t know what she could do. These animals were way bigger than her, nonetheless have teeth and claws. All of a sudden, she heard several wolves howl in the distance in response to Lauren’s howl just moments ago.

Lauren raised her arm and was able to scratch Axel’s face, immediately making it bleed. The smaller wolf, now with a blood stained face stepped back. Lauren growled and Riley heard more howls, a lot closer now.

Lauren stood her ground as Axel started cowering back and it was just moments later when he ran back up the hill into the woods. Right after he ran out of sight, a few wolves, about the size of Axel came running out of the tree line. All of them were of different colors, shades, and markings, but they were all smaller than the one who was still staring and growling at the spot in the tree line where Axel disappeared. Lauren huffed and turned her heads towards Riley.

Golden eyes glared right back at her.

The same golden eyes that she saw a glimpse of last week outside The Coffee Bean.

All of a sudden, the golden eyes started to waver and the black wolf collapsed onto the ground. Several more wolves came out of the tree line, including a light gray one. This one was the only one of its color and it was huge, maybe even bigger than Lauren. It growled loudly, making some other wolves whimper in fear while others created a path for the gray wolf to walk up to the black one.

Riley stood back up. All of the wolves were now surrounding the two, and she couldn’t see Lauren’s body anymore. She wasn’t in control of her own body anymore as she started subconsciously walking towards the group. When she got closer, she realized that these wolves were easily the size of a horse. Their shoulders easily met her face and when she looked at their paws, they were as big as a dinner platter.

Some wolves turned their heads towards the woman who was walking slowly towards the group. One dark brown wolf that was on the right side of her smelled Lauren’s leather jacket that she was still wearing. The wolf snapped at some others making them move to also create a pathway for her to reach Lauren.

When the wolves moved out of the way, she saw Lauren’s body laying in the dirt. The older woman was writhing in pain as she clutched her shoulder, looking dislocated and covered in blood.

“Lauren,” she whispered and ran up to her. Her eyes immediately diverted to the bleeding claw marks on her shoulder. She noticed her body was naked and quickly shimmed out of the leather jacket and draped it over Lauren respectfully. Someone phased next to her and saw that it was someone that she saw in the house earlier in the night.

The man had long shaggy black hair with a small, neatly trimmed beard. His hands immediately covered the wound, trying to keep the bleeding from continuing.

“I need hands!” He yelled out, and it wasn’t a second later before a few other wolves phased into their human forms. “We need to take her inside, now. Everyone at once,” he stated. On the count of three, they all lifted Lauren onto their shoulders and quickly brought her inside.

The rest of the wolves also phased and followed them inside. Riley couldn’t bring herself to move another muscle until a soft hand grazed her arm.

“She will be okay,” a dark-skinned woman told her. Her voice was as warm as honey and it soothed Riley’s thoughts.

“Really?” she countered. “Her shoulder-”

“Will heal,” she finished for her. “I’m Naomi, one of the pack’s hunters.”

“Hunters?”

Naomi paused, “Lauren has told us about you. If you are ready, we can talk in the house.”

Riley looked back at the direction where Lauren was taken. They have entered the house already with the rest of the pack. Naomi and Riley were the only ones left outside in the darkness. This is her chance. This is her chance to find answers, to understand the story.

Without a moment more, she nodded. She knew she wouldn't leave. She knew that from the beginning. She wasn’t scared of what they were, granted a heads up would’ve been nice. The two women then walked back to the house.

Upon entering, all they could hear was Lauren’s screams echoing against the walls. Riley winced at how painful they sounded. 

Everyone but Lauren and the ones who picked her off the ground were all gathered in the living room, also wincing at the cries of pain. Naomi shot one of the other members with a questioning look.

“Apparently, her shoulder was dislocated as well as a broken scapula,” Liam advised. “Asher, Jeremy, the twins, and Kris are in there now. Jeremy is going to give her morphine, but the antibodies in her system will burn it off within the next hour, most likely.”

Asher then came out of a room, “She’s asking for you,” he looked over at Riley. Everyone in the room then looked over and watched her as she left the area and walked into what looked like a medical room.

A large operating table was placed in the middle with Lauren’s body draped across it while cabinets and countertops full of medical supplies surrounded them. Upon Lauren’s body were black drapes, covering her nude figure. The black-haired man who was the first to change into a human from his wolf form looked up at her, now clothed.

“I’m Jeremy,” he stated as he started wrapping Lauren’s shoulder with fresh bandages. Kris was leaning against the countertops away from the table, making sure Jeremy had his space. On either side of Lauren stood two fraternal twin men, holding down Lauren’s sweaty body.

“They held her down,” Jeremy informed. “Her body wasn’t healing the bones in the right places, so I had to rebreak them. She should be fine now, but all she was asking was for you.”

Riley nodded and walked up to the table. The twins kindly smiled at her before walking away to the other side of the room, giving them space. She knelt down to Lauren’s level and reached out to brush away her black hair that was sticking to her face.

“Riley,” Lauren hushed out in pain.

Riley immediately hushed her, “It’s okay, I’m here.”

“I’m sorry,” Lauren replied. Her eyes were barely open and sweat beads were forming on her forehead. She looked exhausted.

Riley gave her a confused look, “Why are you sorry?”

“I didn’t want you to find out like this. I didn’t want to frighten you.”

Riley reached out and grabbed Lauren’s sweaty hand. She made sure she grabbed the good arm before pulling it towards her. Jeremy was about done wrapping her shoulder with the fresh bandages and started to clean up.

“She’s going to heal just fine,” he stated. “But, she needs to rest.”

Riley looked down at Lauren and saw that she fell back asleep. She smiled at how peaceful she looked now that she wasn’t in any more pain. Not like before. She nodded and followed Jeremy, the twins, and Kris out to where everyone else was sitting and having smaller conversations with one another. 

Jeremy gently grabbed onto her arm and pulled her to the side, “Lauren wanted to make sure you were alright. Between each scream, she yelled at me to come find you. She really cares about you.”

Riley smiled and felt a small blush form on her cheeks, “I’ve only known her for about a week. I ran into her last week at one of the local coffee shops.”

Jeremy nodded in acknowledgement, “It can be very easy and quick for wolves to attach to someone.” When Riley gave him a questioning look, he sighed. “How much has she told you about us?”

“Nothing really,” Riley stated, shaking her head. “She seemed like she was going to before that Axel guy appeared outside.”

“That ‘Axel guy’ is Axel Nightwalker, Roman Nightwalker’s oldest son and heir to their throne,” Naomi walked up. “He’s honestly just Roman’s bitch.”

“Well, he seemed like he was pretty powerful to injure Lauren like that,” Riley stated pointing back over towards the medical room where Lauren was still sleeping soundly.

“He is a powerful wolf,” Jeremy piped up. “Don’t let Naomi trick you into thinking he’s not strong.”

“Oh please,” the dark-skinned woman rolled her eyes. “His punk ass was lucky we didn’t get to him first before he ran off.” Someone called Naomi over and she walked away, leaving Jeremy and Riley.

“I promise, Lauren will be fine. I’m the salutary wolf in the pack.” Riley raised her eyebrow in question. “It means I am the one who heals and takes care of the wolves who become sick or injured in the pack. I don’t have any powers or anything, but I do have an extensive medical background and I know how to utilize our resources.”

Riley nodded at the new information, “Axel mentioned that Lauren was the alpha. Is that how this whole thing works?”

Jeremy nodded, “Lauren is our alpha. She got the title a few years ago when her father stepped down. She completed her training and it was time for him to become our elder anyway.”

“So, Kris was the alpha before her?”

Jeremy nodded, “For many years, back when a lot of our own parents were active in the pack. Since he was the alpha, he was the only one to remain an ‘active’ position even though technically Lauren calls the shots now.”

“You are all in the pack?” Riley asked as she waved her hands around signaling everyone in the living room still carrying out their conversations. 

Jeremy nodded, “We have all descended from the original tribe that formed here ages ago. Our ancestors were the ones who discovered the land way before anyone else did, so they settled and lived off the land. They created the first villages that can still be seen to this day. They are located on the far western lands of our territory.”

Riley looked back over towards the room, Lauren’s state still on her mind.

“She will heal in no time,” Jeremy informed her. “We have strong antibodies in our bloodstream that fight off illnesses and wounds that we may encounter, but some problems can still arise. With the fast moving healing cells, sometimes they can cluster up too quickly and in Lauren’s case, if I didn’t rebreak her bones to heal correctly, she would’ve healed with a deformity in her shoulder blade.”

“How long will she be out?” Riley asked.

Jeremy looked at the time, “Maybe for another hour or so. I know she will want to speak with you once she wakes up. Are you planning on being anywhere anytime soon?”

Riley shook her head before grabbing her phone out of her pocket, “I just have work in the morning, but I can let my roommate know I will be held up for a bit.” He nodded and walked off, letting her have her privacy.

**I’m still out with Lauren. Don’t wait up for me.** She typed to Raegan to make sure her best friend wouldn’t worry about her. It wasn’t long before she got a reply back.

**Oh?? Do tell! You two are still at dinner?**

Riley hesitated before typing anything. She obviously wasn’t going to tell Raegan about them, but she didn’t want to straight up lie to her.

**No, I’m back at her place. I met her family.**

That wasn’t a total lie. The gray bubbles at the bottom of her screen popped up immediately and she waited patiently for Raegan’s response.

**Oh shit?! Don’t let me interrupt anything! Get some, Riles!**

Riley shook her head with a small smile on her face before putting her phone away. She walked over towards the living room where everyone was gathered.

“Here she comes now!” A guy yelled from the back of the room. Riley offered them all a small smile before Jeremy walked over and introduced everyone.

“You already know Asher,” He started as he pointed to the tall, burly blonde man that she met before. “He is Lauren’s beta, second in command.”

Asher nodded and offered her a small smile before Jeremy moved on.

“Liam said he already knows you, but he is Lauren and Asher’s delta, third in command.” Riley nodded, already familiar with him. “Next are the twins, Colton and Noah Harrison. They are the sentinals of the pack, which mean they patrol the territory.”

Both men kindly smiled at her, to which she responded with a gentle wave. She had a feeling she had a lot of learning to do.

“Next in the rankings are the hunters,” He turned and pointed to three people. “Logan, Naomi, and Elijah are the three hunters for the pack. Even though our pack typically goes out hunting together, these three alongside Lauren are in charge of where we go, how we attack, and so on.”

She knew of Naomi already, but Logan and Elijah were the ones that she hasn’t spoken to yet. Logan was a little shorter than the rest of the pack members, but he seemed to make up for it in his muscle mass. His short dark hair was mixed in with light highlights that contrasted nicely with his paler skin and green eyes. Elijah on the other hand was almost the complete opposite. He was taller than most of the other ones who stood around him and his biceps were as huge as a few of the boulders she saw outside. His dark skin and features made him look mysterious and even a little intimidating, until he shined a smile so bright that it made Riley smile back at him in return.

“Nice to meet you Riley,” Elijah stated in a deep tone. “Lauren hasn’t stopped talking about you.”

The last comment made Riley blush. Everyone so far seemed to like her, which was great, but she also didn’t know what Lauren had to say about her since they have barely finished a conversation since they’ve met.

“Next are the scouts,” Jeremy continued. “Audrey, Chloe, and Alexander are the ones who are responsible for warning us of any danger that may happen within our territory lines. They work with the twins usually to make sure our lands are safe.”

A question popped into Riley’s head immediately, but she didn’t want to come off as rude.

_ Why was Axel able to come onto their lands if they know he is a dangerous threat to them? _

She made a mental note to ask Lauren later. She was more comfortable speaking with her than the others anyway.

The three scouts greeted her politely, before Jeremy continued his meet and greet of the pack to Riley. 

“Next up is Kol, he is the baby of the pack, also known as the omega,” Jeremy informed as a smaller guy walked forward. He definitely looked the youngest as his baby features were still prominent on his face. “He is the newest to the pack life and still learning our ways.”

“How long have you been a part of the pack?” Riley asked the younger boy.

“Only a year,” he informed her.

“And finally,” Jeremy turned around to the final few of the pack members Riley has not met yet. “There are our warriors, ones who are bred and trained to fight; Aubrey, Cora, Cory, Luke, and Mason.”

Riley greeted the rest of the members before circling back onto Jeremy, “Axel also mentioned something earlier about me being Lauren’s mate. What does that mean?”

Jeremy slowly sighed before rubbing his hand on his neck, looking a little nervous to answer her question. Immediately several of the pack members started up their own conversations, leaving Jeremy on his own to answer her. 

“Well, for starters, it’s unlike anything you may have read in the books or seen on TV,” he started. “Being a werewolf’s mate, is something more than just a sexual connection. When we encounter our ‘mate’ for the first time, something inside of us activates. Some just call it our pheromone levels, but I personally believe it’s much deeper than that. This person is one who we will live the rest of our lives with, if they so choose.”

“They can choose to stay or leave?” Riley questioned.

“More or less,” Jeremy replied. “When a wolf meets their mate for the first time, we are bound to them on our end to become closer with whoever we chose. If, for some reason, it doesn’t work out, the wolf can bring back it’s ties and the connection is severed.”

Riley nodded her head in acknowledgement, “So it gives the other person a choice?”

Jeremy nodded, “Now once a wolf creates that connection, the dynamic between the two may change or it may not, depending on what it is to begin with. They may feel like they can't be separated for too long. They want to be near one another all the time.”

Riley immediately wondered if Lauren has created that connection with them yet. She did want to be near her and ever since they first met, there has been a spark between them.

“I’m not sure Lauren created the mating bond between you and her yet though,” Jeremy interrupted her thoughts. “She hasn’t stopped talking about you and did mention that she hoped that you would be the one, but she failed to mention anything further to me about it.”

The younger woman slowly nodded her head, making another mental note to ask Lauren about that when she wakes up.

“We haven’t scared you off yet, right?” Jeremy shyly asked. 

Riley shook her head, “I don’t think you could at this point. If Lauren will have me, I want to be here.”

“She does,” A raspy voice suddenly appeared behind her, from where the medical room was located. Riley spun around and there Lauren was standing against the door frame. Color has appeared once again to her cheeks and she seemed like she was feeling better than the last time she was conscious.

The older woman was sporting a white sports bra, something that was freeing so it wouldn’t be in the way of the bandage that was wrapped around her shoulder. Riley tried to veer her eyes away from the tight abs that were showcased out for everyone to see. Black sweatpants hung low on the alpha’s hips, also showcasing a small ‘V’ among her sun-kissed skin between her hip bones.

Riley forced her eyes to meet the older woman’s and once she caught Lauren’s gaze, the black-haired woman cocked her head to the side, signaling that she wanted to speak with her. 

“Can we talk?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, the secret is now out! What did you guys think?  
> I hope you enjoyed the new chapter and thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

Their silence was deafening. Lauren led them outside to where they were able to have a little bit of privacy, but she waited for the younger woman to speak her mind first.

Riley all of a sudden lost her train of thought. She had all of these questions that she wanted to ask Lauren so that she could understand. This was her chance to find out the answers, but all she could come up with was a blank stare.

“I know it may be a lot to take in,” Lauren stated all of a sudden, breaking their silence. “If you want me to drop you off back at the diner so you can go home, I can do so. I won’t be offended.”

Riley shook her head. That’s not what she wanted. She knew she wanted to stay. She wanted to ask her questions, to talk with Lauren more, but she couldn’t connect the words together.

Lauren raised an eyebrow, “You don’t want to leave?”

Riley shook her head again, affirming that she did indeed want to stay. Lauren nodded and continued to wait patiently for the younger woman to gather her thoughts. There was a moment of silence before she was able to speak up, “You didn’t frighten me.”

Lauren gave her a questioning look.

“Before,” she continued. “You mentioned that you didn’t want to frighten me. You didn’t. 

“Most people are, you know.” Lauren looked up at her and Riley noticed her deep chocolate eyes, the ones she has grown to care for. “I’m usually not one where people like to hang around.”

Riley shrugged, “I don’t care. I just have a lot of questions.”

Lauren smiled, “Shoot away. I want us to finally finish a conversation before we get interrupted again. You mentioned your father told you a story?” She asked. “What did he tell you exactly?”

Riley then filled her in on what her father told her just the night before. She mentioned that her father, William, and Lauren’s father, Kris, were best friends growing up. She also stated that her family did in fact tell her about the history between the Nightwalker Clan and the Mikaelson Tribe. When she got to the part about Lauren’s mother, her voice faltered.

“Is that true about your mother?” She questioned. “Did Roman Nightwalker actually kill her because she wouldn’t go with him?” 

Lauren sighed, but nodded, giving her the answer to her question. “I only see glimpses of her now,” she said softly. “I don’t remember her much, but the flashes I have of her are enough to tell me that she did love my father. I remember them being happy.” She paused, “It’s been a little over twenty years now and I know he is still not over her. Sometimes, I hear him crying in the middle of the night.”

Riley’s heart broke at that statement. She paused before continuing, “Is what my father told me right then?”

Lauren nodded, “He pretty much told you a brief summary without mentioning that we are werewolves, even though he knew.”

Riley froze, “He knows about you?”

“You think he would be best friends with my father for many years and not know about him being a werewolf?” Lauren smiled at her teasingly. “He was practically in the pack himself, but he was just a human. He was sworn off to secrecy to never tell anyone about who we are, but he knew everything.”

“So you knew that my dad and your dad were friends? Did you know about me?”

Lauren shook her head, “I didn’t know that you were William’s daughter until after we ran into each other on the hike. Only pack members know about that area and since you were human, I figured you were his daughter.” She chuckled, “I don’t think my dad found out you were his daughter until tonight though when you told him your last name.”

“He didn’t?”

“He told me he had a feeling, but the last time he saw you, you were barely out of your toddler years. He wasn’t sure until tonight, and I clarified it for him.”

Riley nodded and then remembered the weird looks she has been noticing between the family members, “You talked to him tonight about it?”

Lauren reached up with the arm that wasn’t bandaged and pointed to her temple, “Everyone in the pack can communicate with one another, but we have to be within a certain distance and it is only with people from within the pack.”

“Can’t that get overwhelming? There are a lot of you.”

Lauren smirked, “Twelve brothers and five sisters, remember?”

“Oh, I haven’t forgotten,” Riley replied and they shared a small laugh. “While you were sleeping, Jeremy was kind enough to introduce everyone to me. It may take a bit for me to remember everyone’s names, but they all seemed nice.”

Lauren smiled, “They all seem to like you as of right now. They think you’re a good one.”

Lauren’s statement reminded her of a question that she has been wondering ever since Jeremy informed her of how the wolves pick a mate.

“So,” she started out. “Jeremy told me some things.”

“About what?”

“How mates work within the tribe,” Riley said. “He didn’t tell me much about you, but he gave a brief general description about it. He mentioned that there is a choice?”

Lauren nodded, “So wolves can pick a mate of their choosing. It doesn’t have to be another wolf. When a wolf meets a mate candidate for the first time, they get this urge within them, but nothing officially happens until they start the connection.”

Riley slowly looked up at Lauren and was met with her warm eyes, “Have you, you know, started that connection with anyone?”

Lauren shook her head, “Not yet.”

Something inside of Riley weighed her down suddenly as she averted her eyes quickly from the older woman.

“I wanted to be sure you knew the full story before I did anything.”

The younger woman froze and slowly looked back up at her. Lauren’s eyes softened and she held out a hand, offering hers for her to hold. Riley took it and was instantly filled with warmth. Lauren stepped a foot closer to her until she was right in front of her. The black-haired woman was only a few inches taller, but everything left Riley’s brain as she tried to collect herself after realizing that Lauren was standing very close to her.

Lauren reached up and brushed a loose hair to the side of Riley’s face. Her warm touch filled her face with warmth underneath the dark sky. The sun had set and the moon was rising, filling up the tree lines with a cool white glow.

“I wanted you to want this life. I wanted you to want this,” Lauren whispered. “I wanted you to want me, as me. I wasn’t going to do anything until I was sure of what you wanted.”

Riley became lost in Lauren’s chocolate pools. Even though it was dark outside, the moon casted enough light for her to see the small golden flakes that spotted the older woman’s irises.

“There have been plenty of stories where the wolf imprinted on someone and forced them to be with them for life,” Lauren continued. “I never wanted that for the person I choose to be with. Riley, if you don’t want this, I will leave you alone. I promise. It will be like if I never existed, but ever since I laid my eyes on you, I’ve had this feeling.”

She reached up and pressed her warm palm against the smaller woman’s cold cheek, “Running into you multiple times proved to me that you were the one. From then on, I couldn’t keep my mind off you. I had to get to know you.”

Riley remained silent as the woman in her arms continued, waiting for her to finish what she was saying.

“Riley,” Lauren sighed softly. “If this isn’t what you want, please tell me. I don’t want to-”

She couldn’t take it anymore. Lauren was in her arms and was rattling on and on about something that she was already sure about. She couldn’t deny there was a force, a connection, between the two and hearing Lauren say that she didn’t create that, she then knew that it was real. Her feelings about this woman were real. She started out thinking she was extremely attractive and then building a small infatuation with her. After today, she realized that her feelings had grown. 

She liked her.

Lauren’s lips were soft and warm against hers, just like the rest of her body. She reached up and wrapped her arms around the taller woman’s neck, bringing her in closer. She felt Lauren smile into the kiss before she started kissing back. It was soft and careful at first, like Lauren was scared she would hurt her until she felt warm hands clutch around her and rest on her hips.

Their lips moved soft and slow with one another, sort of in a slow dance. Riley could feel her pulse increasing by the second as what felt like butterflies swarmed widely within her. She could’ve sworn that Lauren could feel, or even hear, her pulse quicken but the other woman didn’t do anything instead just hold her body against hers.

Riley slowly pulled away and looked up at the large brown eyes staring back at her. Both women’s breaths were shorter from the kiss, but a sweet silence remained.

“I’m here,” the younger woman whispered. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Lauren erupted into a huge smile before picking up the smaller woman by the waist and spinning her around gently. Both of them let out soft giggles before Lauren placed her back down on her feet. Riley reached up on her tiptoes and placed another soft kiss on the warm and enticing lips.

All of a sudden, there were a few catcalls and whistles heard from inside the house and Riley forgot they weren’t completely alone. Both women turned around to about half the pack watching them through the windows.

Lauren softly growled at them with glowing eyes and they immediately turned and walked swiftly away from the glass. Riley gave her a small smile and when Lauren looked back down at her, the golden glow from her eyes vanished and returned back to its normal chocolate color. Lauren’s facial expression softened once their eyes met and Riley offered a small smile in return.

“I forget sometimes that they can reach into my thoughts,” Lauren stated. “It can be quite annoying sometimes.”

“I can see why,” Riley laughed out. Her eyes landed on Lauren’s bandages and with one hand, she softly pressed against the wrap. “Does this still hurt?”

Lauren winced slightly and Riley immediately took her hand away, “Only a bit, but it should heal completely soon.”

Riley nodded, but her eyes didn’t trail far from the compressed piece of clothing that was separating her hand and Lauren’s breasts. She didn’t forget that the older woman was out here with her in just a sports bra and sweatpants, that hung pretty low might she remind herself. She bit her tongue and refrained from saying or doing anything, but it was pretty hard. It has been a while since she has had any contact with another woman and her body was now feeling the repercussions of it.

“I have to leave soon,” Riley spoke out. “My car is still at the diner.”

Lauren nodded, “I can find a shirt and then drop you off at your car. Would that be okay?”

Riley nodded, but was sad that their night had eventually come to an end.

*****

“Here we are,” Lauren whispered as she pulled up to the near empty parking lot where Riley’s car was still parked. Riley didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want the night to end. 

“Do you guys know anything else about why there are several people disappearing?” Riley questioned. Being back at the diner reminded her of how this whole evening started off.

Lauren shook her head slowly, almost sadly. “We aren’t sure of much besides that the Nightwalkers are indeed behind it, but we are going to find out more soon. This city will be safe again.”

Lauren seemed sure of that last statement, like it was their end goal to make sure the city was safe. Their territory. 

“What did Axel mean when they are creating something that has never been created?”

“I honestly am not sure,” Lauren shrugged. “I will have to look more into it and talk with Dr. Roberts some more.”

“That’s the medical examiner that works for your dad now?”

The older woman nodded, “My father found her and saw that she had experiences with our kind overseas while she was with some other tribes in Europe. He said that she has dealt with a lot of other creatures while she was out there, so he hired her when we were coming back from Canada when we heard about the disappearances.”

“Do you guys usually travel together?” Riley questioned.

“Sometimes,” Lauren answered. “This was a spur of the moment trip and we were gone for months. We made arrangements for it to be longer, but once we heard about the trouble in Seattle and how the disappearing people were becoming more constant, we came back at once.”

Riley hummed, “You said that Dr. Roberts dealt with other creatures overseas. What other creatures are there?”

“I mean there are other tribes all over the North American continent,” Lauren stated. “We were cohabiting with another pack that my father knew while we were in Canada, but there are tribes all over the world.” She paused, “As for other creatures, I am not too sure. As far as I knew, there have only been werewolves, unless my dad knows more than what he has told me. But, if werewolves exist, I won’t be surprised if any other mythological creatures do.”

There was a pause before Riley continued, “I’m sure that Dr. Roberts was the one that covered up the case from the news, right?”

“What do you mean?”   
“I mean, when we saw the news earlier, they stated that the woman that was killed on the trail will no longer be reported. Was that her doing?”

“She only did that so we didn’t have news crews breathing down our backs. We can’t have that and keep our secret from the public.”

Riley nodded. She figured she would have to keep the fact that Lauren and her family are a tribe full of werewolves and not just close family friends that she did once believe less than twenty-four hours ago.

“Riley,” Lauren whispered. The younger woman looked up at her favorite brown eyes, “You can’t tell anyone. I know it’s a lot and you can always change your mind about me and wanting a piece of this life, but if you do, the secret about us must be maintained a secret, for the human’s sake.” She paused. “During the war twenty years ago, it got so bad that a lot of people moved out of the city, but a few stayed and have always been a little scared of the Mikaelson family. There are stories, but of course none know the real truth and to keep them safe and away from harm, the secret about us has to maintain the top priority.”

Riley nodded, “I promise I won’t tell.” She started gathering her things from inside the Jeep, and as she was about to open the door, Lauren was already on the other side, opening it for her.

She offered a hand, and when Riley grabbed onto it, she pulled the smaller woman out of the Jeep and into her arms, landing a kiss on her lips. Riley softly moaned into Lauren’s lips, and immediately wrapped her arms around the woman’s strong back and clutched the navy blue shirt she was wearing.

They separated to where only a few inches were between them and Riley reached up and softly ran her thumb against the tight braids on either side of Lauren’s head; her signature look. The older woman looked down at her with a small smile, before leaning her head into the woman’s touch.

“When can I see you again?”

“I won’t be far away,” Lauren answered. “I’ll text you. Maybe we can plan something this weekend?”

Riley nodded her head, “I will like that.”

Lauren smiled in response, “Good. I want to take it slow, if you don’t mind. I know tonight might not have been the best starting point, but I want to make sure you’re alright with all of this.”

“I told you I am,” Riley firmly said.

“Hunny, you have barely scratched the surface,” Lauren smiled at her and Riley softly chuckled.

“Okay, I guess that’s fair.”

Lauren placed a soft kiss on the brunette’s forehead, “Text me when you get home please? I’m sure Raegan is wondering where you are.”

“She’s waiting up for me,” Riley said. “I texted her earlier and again when we left your place.”

Lauren nodded, “Alright, drive safe. Goodnight.” She released Riley’s hand from hers as the smaller woman started walking over to her car. She didn’t get back into her Jeep until the brunette was safely in her car and driving away into the night.

*****

As soon as she opened the door to her apartment, her eyes landed upon her best friend as if the light-skinned woman was waiting for the very second she came home.

“So,” Raegan slowly teased. “How was it?” She looked down at her watch, “It’s pretty late, what else did you guys do?”

Riley rolled her eyes at her best friend, but couldn’t help but smile at her antics. Of course she wasn’t going to say anything about the wolves, but she wasn’t going to outstraight lie to the one person that has been by her side for many years. If Liam is going to stick around for longer, she is going to leave that conversation up to them.

“So?” Raegan asked impatiently as Riley hadn't said a word yet.   


“She’s nice.”

Raegan immediately groaned loudly as she followed the brunette to her bedroom, “That is all I get? A ‘she’s nice’?”

Riley made the mistake of connecting eyes with her, and Raegan caught it.

“Ha!” Raegan exclaimed, “I don’t know why you ever try. You are the worst at hiding your feelings from me. So, stuff happened. I can tell.”

Riley sighed and brought her hand up to her face, sort of trying to hide the blush and avert her eyes at the same time from the other woman. 

“Okay, yes. We had dinner,”  _ or lack thereof _ , she thought to herself. “And then she brought me back to her place to meet her family. They were all nice and we had a moment or two, but that was really it.”

She also wasn’t going to mention that Liam was there. He wasn’t a Mikaelson and it would’ve made Raegan confused as to why he was there anyway, so she just left him out of the story. She knew it was a form of lying, but she knows that if she mentioned him, she would have to make up a story and she didn’t want to do that.

Raegan wiggled her eyes, “A moment or two?”

“Okay!” Riley sighed, “We kissed, but that is all you’re getting.” She pointed her finger at Raegan, but it didn’t matter. The curly haired woman was already doing a dance, happy that she was able to get some details out of her.

Riley smiled for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. She may have hid her feelings about Lauren, even pushed them down at times, but one thing's for sure. So far, Lauren made her happy and that counted for something. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, thanks for reading! I hope you liked this update!  
> Please leave Kudos and I also love reading comments, so if you want, please leave those as well!!  
> Have a good day/night!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little warning that there is some language in this chapter. Enjoy!

The sound of her everyday alarm woke Riley from her sleep. Flipping around in her bed, she blindly reached out and pressed the screen of her phone, turning off the wretched sound. Sighing, she flipped onto her back and looked up at her ceiling. Yesterday’s events played through her mind as she reached up and touched her lips, remembering the feeling of Lauren’s on hers. 

As soon as she thought about the older woman, the black wolf that she phased into also came into mind along with the rest of the Mikaelson Tribe. She thought about the revelation she made last night about the family as she went through her morning routine to get ready for work. She walked out of her room and as she entered the kitchen, she noticed that Raegan was also awake sipping her morning coffee and watching the news.

_...the total number of people missing that are related to unknown causes and still have yet to be found is up to eleven. The chief of the Seattle Police Department will be holding a conference today at 2 pm to discuss furthermore on the problem on hand… _

“I can’t believe it,” Raegan sighed as she sat atop one of the bar stools. “Have you seen this Riley?”

The brunette looked up at the screen and nodded, “Yeah, have you seen the protests around the city and all the ‘Lost Person’ signs?”

Raegan hummed, “Do you think Lauren knows anything?”

She almost felt her eyes bug out of her head and her heart almost beat out of her chest. She didn’t tell Raegan last night, did she? She didn’t remember telling her best friend about the occurrences that happened yesterday.

“Riles?”

The brunette snapped out of her daze, “Huh?”

“You kind of spaced out,” Raegan raised her eyebrows questioningly. “I said, do you think Lauren would know anything? You know, since the last time something similar like this happened, the Nightwalkers were all over it?”

“H-How did you know that?”

“Oh come on,” the light-skinned woman scoffed. “I know it was a lot, but you really forgot what your dad told us just two days ago?”

Then, everything clicked and Riley almost felt ashamed for thinking that Raegan knew about the secret of the Mikaelson Tribe. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart before responding.

“I don’t think she knows much. She didn’t seem like she did yesterday.”

Raegan hummed in acknowledgment before taking another drink of her coffee and turning her attention back to the TV. Riley breathed out a sigh of relief and walked back to her room so Raegan couldn’t ask her any more nerve-wracking questions. She had to get ready for work anyway.

*****

Her morning routine wouldn’t be the same without her favorite coffee from her favorite local coffee shop. She opened the large oak door to the familiar shop and noticed that Rob also had his small TV on the local news channel in the back. As she walked through the doorframe, she noticed the facial expression of the older man.

His brow was furrowed and a concerned look appeared on his face as he was looking up towards the small screen that was elevated and mounted to the wall. She noticed that the channel was doing a recap of the news segment that she saw in her apartment just an hour before.

“A conference,” the older man sighed and shook his head slightly before offering Riley a small smile. “Hey sweetheart, do you want your usual?”

Riley returned the smile and nodded, “Yes, please. Thank you.” As he began making her drink, she pointed up towards the TV, “What do you think about the news?”

Rob sighed, “It’s ridiculous. I haven’t been this worried in twenty years.”

She paused slightly. Twenty years.

“You have been here for a while, haven’t you?” she questioned. “The coffee shop, I mean.”

Rob nodded and held out his arms, “I have been with this establishment since its opening over thirty years ago.” He paused, “Everything okay?”

The twenty-four-year-old dazed for a second before shaking her head. She reached into her bag to pay for the coffee and held out her card for Rob to take. “What makes you so worried?”

Rob took the card and swiped it on his register, “It just seems like history is repeating itself.”

With that statement, the woman immediately felt that needed to get to work. She had to know more and since she couldn’t see Lauren right now, she figured she would do her own research. The human way.

“Thank you,” She stated quickly as she took back her card and the warm coffee cup. It was just seconds later when she was already out the door and walking quickly to her job. The sound of her small heels clicking against the cement of the sidewalk was quick. She didn’t want to run, so she reverted to walking quickly instead. It was easier on her body while wearing heels and to passengers, she seemed like she was just running late to work.

The dozens of concrete stairs that led to the front door of the lobby were not on her side today. Usually, she walks them and since the stairs are fairly spaced out, it’s not a bad incline except for when someone is in a rush and they have to take large quick strides to get to the top. Quickly opening the door, she greeted Officer Herrera as she walked through security. He noticed the young woman seemed to be in a rush, so he offered a quick wave and a small smile. She was able to return the sweet greeting before the elevator doors opened in front of her.

As she waited for the metal box to bring her up to her floor, she was finally able to take a breath. She checked her phone and noticed that she didn’t have any notifications. As the doors opened to her floor, she briskly walked towards her office and placed her bag down on her desk before taking a seat in her large white chair.

Looking around, she wanted to see if anyone was looking in her direction. With the glass walls between offices, it was super easy for anyone to see what their peers were doing. As it offered a modernized look to the floor, she overheard a few people as she was in the break room talk about how much harder it is to have office sex. Thankfully, she has never had to endure the embarrassment of being caught in a compromising position or even be the one to walk in on such an embarrassing moment. 

She got here a little earlier than usual as she usually takes her time walking up to her place of work from the coffee shop and she usually has a brief conversation with Officer Herrera downstairs before coming up to her office, but today is not the same. She had to find the answers.

The brunette woke up her Apple desktop computer with the slight touch of her mouse and immediately signed in. Bringing up Google, she started looking up some news articles from twenty years ago dealing with the Mikaelson family.

_ “Several Missing Persons Throughout Seattle and Surrounding Cities” _

_ “Animal Attack Strikes Again” _

_ “Twelfth Animal Attack within Four Months” _

Each article was saying the same thing and everything was starting to become all too familiar to what was happening now. A few pictures of the deceased people who were attacked by an animal were leaked and posted to the public. Zooming into the picture, she noticed that the marks on the bodies were all too similar to the marks that she saw on Lauren’s shoulder just last night.

_ “Large Wolf Spotted on Private Lands” _

That article headline caught her eye and she immediately clicked on it. Apparently, around the same time as the disappearances and animal attacks, a large wolf was spotted on the land that was owned by the Mikaelson family. A few hunters tried to kill the wolf before Kris opened up a lawsuit against the group of hunters that tried to hunt on his land.

As she was beginning to get lost within multiple articles, posts, and pictures that were posted from that time, her thoughts were immediately startled by a buzz on her phone. She looked over towards the brightened screen and noticed that it was a message from a certain black-haired beauty.

**Lauren: Lookup.**

Confused, she picked up her head and noticed that the older woman was standing right outside her door, carrying a plastic bag with what looked like two pints of ice cream. She was dressed in her usual leather jacket, unzipped and showcasing another one of her many shirts from her V-neck collection. This time, the color was white, and it contrasted against the sun-kissed skin really nicely in Riley’s eyes. Black skinny jeans hugged her muscular thighs and calves as loosely tied black Doc Martens encased her feet.

“Hey,” she offered a small smile and held up the bag. “I brought a snack.”

“I see,” the smaller woman laughed as she nonchalantly closed out of the windows she had opened on her monitor.

Lauren walked up to her desk and lightly placed down the bag and fished out two plastic spoons along with two pints of Ben and Jerry’s. “Chocolate Fudge Brownie or Vanilla Caramel Fudge?”

“Always chocolate with me,” Riley held out her hand as Lauren offered her the chocolate pint of ice cream and a plastic spoon. “What are you doing here, anyway? Not like I don’t want to see you. It was just all very sudden.”

Lauren raised an eyebrow and pointed behind her, “I can go, if you want.”

“No,” Riley smiled as she placed down her ice cream onto her desk and reached for the material underneath the lapels of Lauren’s leather jacket. She pulled the older woman closer to her, “You just haven’t called and this morning, I was even second-guessing everything that happened last night.”

The black-haired woman smirked, “Oh really? Maybe this may remind you of what happened last night.” She reached forward and wrapped her arms around Riley’s waist and politely rested them atop of her hips as she leaned closer until their lips met in a slow, yet soft kiss.

The feeling of their lips touching once again gave Riley loads of butterflies in her stomach as her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest. Her hands traveled north until she was able to wrap her arms around the taller woman and bring her down closer to her own body. The kiss wasn’t as long as it was the night before, but it didn’t need to be.

Riley pulled back slightly but didn’t move her hands. “I’m not second-guessing anymore.”

“Good,” Lauren said softly. She smiled down at her and Riley fell even harder for how her eyes looked so caring and loving at that moment. “The main reason why I wanted to see you is to make sure you were alright with everything, but I’m guessing that kiss sort of settled it?”

Riley nodded and placed a sweet kiss on the older woman’s cheek, “I mean it would’ve been nice for a heads up, but I like the surprise and I wasn’t doing anything important for work anyway.” She picked up the ice cream once again and sat down at one of the chairs she had in front of her desk. She didn’t want to be sitting behind the desk with Lauren in her office. That seemed too official and it wasn’t like Lauren was a business partner.

Then, all of a sudden, she realized that her office walls were indeed made of glass. She quickly glanced around and there were a few heads that quickly looked away as they were now caught red-handed.

“You know,” Lauren glanced around. “These offices must suck for having sex in.”

Riley’s mouth dropped open and she scoffed loudly as she raised a folder from her desk and hit Lauren lightly on the arm with it.

“Not you too!” she exclaimed and sighed as she placed the folder back down. “I overheard some of my coworkers say that a while back when they renovated our floor.”

“It’s not just the sex,” Lauren shrugged, “but based on your reaction, I get the feeling that I may not even be able to kiss you anymore while at work.”

Riley hummed, “I mean it’s not the most professional, but I’ve seen a lot worse on this floor. Trust me,” she laughed. “Us kissing is not the most erotic thing people on this floor have done, seen, or heard.”

Lauren raised her eyebrow again, “Dually noted.” She grabbed onto the other ice cream and sat down in the other chair across from Riley, “So, you’re okay with everything?” she asked as she started eating small bites.

The younger woman nodded, “Yes, and how many times do I have to reassure you?”

“Honestly?” Lauren asked softly and she paused, “Probably for a little while longer. I’m not just anyone, Riley. If you don’t want to be apart of this life, I can’t make you. This has to be all up to you.”

The brunette reached over and softly placed her hand atop of the older woman’s, “I told you, I am in this. Why don’t you believe me?”

Lauren shrugged, “I don’t know. It’s all very new,” she stated. “Hell, I showed you who I really am last night and we met just last week.”

“Understandable,” Riley offered. “But I mean it. I am in this and only time will prove that.”

Lauren nodded as she took another bite of the frozen dairy delicacy. Riley also took a bite from her own ice cream. Granted it was now mid-morning and usually, Riley would decline ice cream before lunch, but today she made an exception. Plus, by having her own office, she was able to keep a mini-fridge in the corner to hold her lunches and snacks. So, even if she didn’t finish it, she could easily put it in the freezer compartment and save it for later or even another day.

“So,” she spoke up again. “Any updates with anything?”

Lauren shook her head, “Nothing so far. The pack is on their rounds right now, checking on our lands for anything, but so far they have found nothing.”

Riley stuck out her spoon, “Why aren’t you with them?”

“I had my own mission,” Lauren raised her own ice cream and pointed to the other one in the younger woman’s hand. “Plus, I had to make sure you were okay, and what better way to see the place you worked at.”

“You know, phones are a thing. Plus, how did you find my floor?”

“I know, but for one, phones work both ways, and two, the phone isn’t as good as in-person, so I chose the better option,” Lauren stated. “As for your question, it isn’t hard to ask for directions.” She offered a kind smile, “I just went to the secretary in the front lobby and asked for your name and they gave me directions up here.”

Riley hummed in acknowledgment and smiled at her. Suddenly, her experience at The Coffee Bean from this morning and last week popped into her mind. It was supposed to be one of the questions she was focused on answering through research, but she wasn’t allotted the time to do so before Lauren walked in.

“So, Rob at The Coffee Bean,” she started out. “You seem to know him really well and he seems to know your family. Does he know about you guys?”

Lauren nodded, “Rob is one of the pack’s human allies, kind of like your father. We had to acquire them to help us make sure the humans don’t form an attack on us behind the scenes.”

Riley cocked her head slightly, “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Lauren started. “Rob, William, and a few others who stuck around after the war are apart of a human alliance that my father created. Back then, the wolves weren’t as careful. Even on our own lands, some humans tried to hunt us down to ‘kill the animal who attacked all the humans’.”

Riley immediately thought of the article where she saw that a large wolf was seen on their lands and how some humans tried to hunt it down. “So, it wasn’t one of you?”

“Oh, it certainly could have been one of the members of the Mikaelson Tribe. It was before my own pack, so it could have easily been a pack member from when my dad was alpha. Since we are so big, the humans thought that we were the animals that killed multiple people and tried to hunt us for trophies.”

“But wasn’t it one of the wolves from the Nightwalker Clan?”

Lauren nodded, “It was, but they didn’t know that and back then, the Nightwalker Clan didn’t have the land that compared to ours, so they were on the run mostly.”

“Humans aren’t able to shoot the wolves right?” Riley questioned, now concerned.

Lauren shook her head, “If they try to, the bullets don’t do much to us anyway. Pesky little human bullets may harm us and we are wounded until the bullet gets taken out, but once it is removed, we heal normally. The humans don’t know that though, obviously,” she paused. “So, once we made them believe that they shot down the animal that killed all those people, was when it all started for us. The treaty was destined to take place, and you know the story from there.”

Riley hummed and was about to respond, but they were suddenly interrupted by Duke barging into her office.

“Good morning sweetheart, how are you doing this fine morning?” he asked flirtatiously. He then noticed Lauren and grazed his eyes up and down her body, “Who is your little friend here?”

Lauren immediately scoffed and angrily stood up. The force pushed the chair back against the wall roughly, and Riley was scared that it might have even cracked the glass.

“Who the hell are you?” Lauren questioned with a nasty expression as if he was the scut on the bottom of her boot. “And I am not just,  _ her friend. _ ” 

Riley also stood from her chair and put down her ice cream. She was worried that Lauren was about to do something irrationally towards her co-worker. She didn’t know Lauren’s full strength and power, but she did know that she was easily capable enough to tear the man in front of them to shreds. She placed her hand on Lauren’s chest, “It’s fine.”

Duke grumbled underneath his voice and gave Lauren a disgusted look, “Who brought the dyke in, Riley?”   


“Now I’m going to kill him,” Lauren growled underneath her voice, but before she was able to do anything, Riley stood in front of her so they were now making eye contact. She could have sworn she thought she saw Lauren’s eyes revert to the golden haze of her wolf eyes, but they immediately went back to the chocolate brown once her eyes landed on hers.

At this time, Duke walked himself out, thankfully without another word. Riley didn’t think she would be able to calm Lauren down more if he said anything else on top of that, nonetheless thought that she would be able to calm her down at all.   


“You deal with that asshole every day?” Lauren scoffed as she looked down the hallway at him through the glass walls of Riley’s office. He was now casually flirting with another woman that also worked on the floor as if none of this even happened.

“Please tell me he knows your gay,” Lauren groaned, now looking back at the smaller woman in front of her.

Riley immediately scoffed, “Trust me, I have tried, but he doesn’t want to listen.”

The older woman rolled her eyes, “Anyway, besides him. What do you think about coming back to my place this weekend?” she asked. “If you’re free. I want to show you more of me.”

The slight blush on Riley’s cheeks wasn’t invisible to either of them. The brunette then smiled and nodded her head, “I would love to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think? Thank you for reading and please leave Kudos and comments! Have a good day/night!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys,
> 
> I am so sorry about the hiatus I took from this story. Life got very hectic, but I am beginning to work on this again. This chapter is a little longer to sort of compensate for my absence. I hope you like it!

Riley quickly turned her silver Hyundai down the narrow gravel driveway that she luckily caught in time before she missed the road. She was excited to see Lauren again, but didn’t want to come off as too eager. After the moment in her office, she just wanted to spend more time with her, but she didn’t want to come off as clingy, so she always tries to keep her cool around the older woman.

It wasn’t long on the winding road before she was able to see the rooftops and siding of the large house that was home to almost two dozen werewolves. This time she was seeing it in plain daylight, so she was able to see more details in the sunlight. Everything was just as huge and modern as she remembered it, even with her memory of the house itself being a little hazy. The last time she was here, she was a little overwhelmed with finding out the secret of the Mikaelson family and wasn’t as focused as she was now.

Pulling up into the driveway, she noticed Lauren chopping up firewood in a little grassy patch off near the wood line. She placed her car in park and turned it off, all without taking her eyes off the black-haired woman. As she approached her, she noticed that her two tight braids were against each side of her temple as usual and the rest of her thick hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Some strands, however, were sticking to the sweat on her forehead and back of her neck.

Each swing Lauren did, flexed the muscles in her body. She couldn’t veer her eyes away from the woman’s abs, back, and arms. She wasn’t wearing a shirt, and by wearing only a sports bra and jeans, Riley couldn’t help herself but glance a few extra seconds here and there at the woman’s prominent six-pack on display along with her tribal tattoo on her forearm. 

“You arrived at a very convenient time,” Lauren breathless, but still able to pull out her famous smirk. “I wasn’t expecting you for another hour or so.”

Riley shrugged, “I was able to finish my errands today earlier than I thought I would, so I just came right here.” She kept watching as Lauren staged another piece of wood before picking up the ax and swinging it over her head almost effortlessly and splitting it into two. Reaching over, she grabbed the two pieces and threw them over to the large stack of freshly chopped wood.

“What’s all the wood for?”

Lauren wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand, “My father and I were thinking of doing a bonfire for the pack tonight. We usually do one every so often, and we haven’t done one in while.”

“Wouldn’t I be intruding?” Riley asked now concerned, “I didn’t mean to crash some party.”

Lauren smiled, “It’s not a party, and even then, I invited you. Plus, I wanted you to come and hear some stories. It’s a good way to understand more about our history.” She picked up the last large wood and split it into two. After cleaning up her mess, she grabbed a black t-shirt from the ground and then reached her hand out to grab Riley’s.

“C’mon,” Lauren softly stated. “Let’s go inside.”

Riley grabbed her hand and followed her into the house. It was just as huge and clean as she remembered it. Everything was in its rightful place, as if nothing has moved since the last time she stepped foot inside. Lauren led her through a small hallway leading from the dining area which led to a wide staircase. Halfway up, it separated into two sections, one leading to one side of the house and the other leading to the far side. 

The two women walked up to the right side of the staircase which then led them to a hallway with multiple doors. Riley figured they were all rooms, one each belonging to a family member. Lauren led her to one of the rooms, the door that was the most secluded out of them all and the younger woman raised her eyebrows at the immense space Lauren called her bedroom. 

The spacious rustic-like bedroom was gorgeous, unsurprised to Riley. The whole house was and she didn’t think that it wouldn’t resonate with each square footage.

The flooring was dark hardwood, but a large maroon rug that was centered underneath the large king sized bed covered most of it. On the far wall, the room featured a fireplace with beautiful stone surrounding it and leading all the way up to the ceilings. Large dark wooden ceiling beams went from wall to wall and what hung in the middle of one, perfectly centered in the room was a single-row tealit candle chandelier, supported by thick ropes. 

As if that wasn’t enough, a small leather couch was pushed up against the wall facing the bed that was in the middle of the room. A dark wicker and rattan weaved chair with armrests stood beside it with a soft blanket hanging over the back. Even with the soft, warm lighting coming from the fireplace and the chandelier, there were plenty of windows providing a view of the mountains on the horizon. On the far side of the room, stood what she assumed was her own bathroom, but she couldn’t see much past the slightly closed dark oak door.

“I’m going to shower,” Lauren spoke, throwing her shirt into her large walk-in closet. “Make yourself at home, I shouldn’t be long.”

Riley nodded and watched as the older woman walked into her bathroom and closed the door. She walked over towards the large bed and placed her bag down. It wasn’t long before she looked at the family portrait that was portrayed on her nightstand.

Lauren, Kris, and what Riley assumed to be her mother were all in a tight embrace and smiling widely at the camera. Kris was wearing a nice button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, so she was able to see his pack tattoo. She remembered the other night when she was here, he was wearing long sleeves so she was unable to get a look at it. Lauren was right. It was quite similar to hers, but the curves and branches were in different places, creating a different design than his daughters. She looked closely and sure enough the Mikaelson motto that Lauren showed her was also inked onto his skin.

Riley looked at Lauren’s mom. She looked beautiful, and happy, as her arms were wrapped around her child. This had to have been taken over twenty years ago when the mother was still alive, and Lauren didn’t look much older than five or six.

The young woman looked around to see if there were any other pictures, but it looked like that was the only one.

She kept walking around Lauren’s room, now very interested in the older woman’s personal things. She didn’t want to snoop, but the woman doesn’t talk about anything personal unless she is asked, which in a way is not so closed off as she seems to be. Riley just wanted to know more about her, without meaning to come off as too interested. The dark-haired woman was mysterious and it seemed like she was learning more and more about her every moment she was with her.

Around the corner, there was a large oak desk covered in sketch paper, markers, and pencils. She noticed a few sketches of some landscapes that she assumed was around here. A full moon in each of them. Another one was a drawing of a large black wolf, staring at its own reflection in a lake. She assumed it was Lauren’s reflection, something she has seen when in her other form.

She turned the paper and what she found caught her breath. It was a rough sketch, but it was of her. In the drawing, she was smiling and by the look of the pencil strokes, it looked like Lauren took precious time in sketching out her facial features.

The sound of the shower turning off caught her attention and she shuffled the papers back onto the desk. She sat down on the bed and took out her phone, making it look like she was scrolling on social media instead of snooping through her desk. 

The door opened and there Lauren stood in a new sports bra and a towel around her waist, steam bellowing around her indicating that she took a really hot shower. They met eyes and shared a small glance before Lauren walked over to her dresser to find fresh clothes. 

As she was rummaging through her drawers, Riley caught sight of the scar on her shoulder. She approached the older woman, who now stood in front of her, and raised her hand slowly. Their eyes met and Lauren nodded softly, almost giving her permission to touch the scar that was still fresh. It was very pink and the skin above the wound it was very soft and thin. The younger woman was scared to press into it too hard, afraid she might hurt her.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Lauren basically read her mind. “I know it doesn’t look like it, but the scar should be gone within the next day or two.”

“Really?” Riley wondered. “That quick?”

Lauren nodded, “We have medications and creams that aid in faster healing, but just having the werewolf blood does the trick.”

Riley hummed and with one last caress, she dropped her hand and stepped away, allowing Lauren to walk back to the bathroom to change into her clothes.

~

“Where are we going?” Riley asked softly as Lauren led her into the passenger side of her Jeep. Once Lauren got changed, she took Riley by the hand and led her downstairs and into the garage. She didn’t know where they were going, but she had a feeling that she was going to be nicely surprised, knowing Lauren’s antics.

“It’s a surprise,” Lauren offered, before gently closing the passenger side door and getting in on her side. She cleared her throat, “I wanted to take you somewhere before the bonfire tonight.” She paused, “Somewhere private we can talk.”

Riley nodded and looked out the window as they drove down the driveway and headed towards their destination. They never veered off the gravel road and part of her thinks that this road isn’t on a lot of maps, but it wasn’t very long before she realized they were going West. The mountains were in the distance as larger bodies of water were starting to make their appearance.

The drive was a comfortable silence. Halfway through it Lauren offered her right hand out slightly. Riley smiled to herself before taking it with her own hand and they continued on the drive.   
Lauren pulled up into a large opening in the treeline and parked, “Here we are.”

Riley looked around confused, “Where exactly?”

Lauren smiled, “C’mon, I’ll show you.” She stepped out of the Jeep and walked around to her side. Riley already unbuckled her seatbelt and was about to jump out, before Lauren stopped her.

“Wait,” she reached out and held her thigh. Riley had to keep her breathing under control as the skin flared underneath Lauren’s touch. “I parked in a bad spot. There is a massive ditch right here.”

Riley looked down and sure enough, there was a large ditch right on the edge of where the Jeep’s tires were. If she jumped out how she was planning too, there was a good chance she would slip into it.

“Here,” Lauren turned around and offered her back to her. “Jump.”

“Jump?” Riley asked. “Onto your back?”

Lauren chuckled, “It’s fine, you got this.”

“I’m more worried about you,” Riley countered. “It’s safe enough for you to turn around and have me jump onto your back, but I can’t simply jump down?”

“Just come on,” Lauren huffed jokingly.

“Okay,” Riley softly said as she squared her feet and successfully jumped onto the older woman’s back. Warm hands immediately wrapped around her legs as she wrapped them tightly around Lauren’s strong torso. Her arms wrapped around the tops of Lauren’s shoulders and she interlocked her hands and laid them gently on the older woman’s chest.

The first thing she noticed was the smell of her shampoo, still very fresh and potent from her shower. It was calming and smelled of something woodsy. 

Typical.

Lauren shut the door and started walking towards the middle of the field.

“Okay, I think the ditch is way back there.” Riley indicated as she thought she should climb down, but Lauren only tightened her grip around the smaller woman’s legs. Riley shrugged. It wasn’t like she wasn’t comfortable anyway.

As they continued walking, Riley began taking in more of her surroundings. She noticed a far cabin in the distance. It looked very old and didn’t seem like anyone had gone into it for many years. The further they walked, the more cabins started to appear. It seemed like a very old village, from the looks of it.

In front of them was a small sound, and Lauren found a large boulder before gently setting Riley down and sat next to her.

“Where are we?” Riley asked as she glanced around them.

“I’m pretty sure Jeremy told you about the old villages on the far Western lands, right?” Lauren asked while Riley nodded in acknowledgement. “This is one of them.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t look like anyone has lived here in a long time.”

Lauren nodded, “Not in a couple hundred years or so. The land that is owned by the Mikaelson family is very vast and they traveled to many different areas.”

“What happens to them? The older members of the tribe, I mean.”

Lauren shrugged, “They eventually pass, but until then they are inactive members of the tribe. They don’t do the everyday stuff such as hunting, scouting, or patrolling, but they either stay at home or work normal jobs. They are still wolves, but they don’t transform as often, nor do they need to.”

“Why don’t they?”

“They just don’t need to, so they prefer not to. As we get older, it gets harder and more painful to transform, so if they don’t need to, they won’t. If there was another war; however, they would transform and then follow my lead, like the rest of the pack.”

Riley hummed to herself and Lauren glanced over, “Is everything okay?”

The smaller woman nodded, “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”

“If anything gets too much, just let me know and I can shut up.” Lauren seemed very self-conscious and it was the first time that Riley has ever seen her like this. In the past, Lauren seemed very proud of her history and what they are, but now it seems like she wasn’t so.

Riley reached her hand out to Lauren’s cheek and caressed it softly, “Hey, don’t do that. I want to learn more about you and your history. I think it’s very interesting, although sometimes it can be overwhelming. It’s me though, not you.”

“I understand,” Lauren spoke softly. “It’s just you didn’t choose this life, and I can’t make you stay with me if you don’t want to. This isn’t normal.”

Riley scoffed softly, “My parents hid the fact that they were close to your family from me. They were practically running with the wolves themselves. If anything, this is normal for my family.” She paused before continuing, “Plus, I want to stay with you. You make me feel things that I didn’t know I could. You make me happy.”

Lauren smiled and gave her a soft glance, “Really?”

Riley nodded and pulled the older woman in for a hug, “Of course, and while we are on the topic of discussion, what are we?”

Lauren gave her a small smile, “I’m yours.”

“And what does that mean?” Riley countered. “Is that girlfriend or lover or-I mean I know labels are so overrated nowadays, but I don’t know. I kind of seem to like the thought of having a label on us-”

“Girlfriend, then.” Lauren decided as she softly interrupted Riley’s rambling effort into telling her how she felt.

Riley smiled softly as a light blush began to form on her cheeks, but there was something else she wanted to make sure they were on the same page.

“And the whole mating thing?”

Lauren smiled, “I promise that I won’t mark you or really anything without consulting you first. I won’t do anything until you are ready.”

Riley knows she has heard Lauren tell her this before, but it didn’t hurt in getting extra reassurance. Especially about something she doesn’t really know much about.

“Is that what you are worried about?” Lauren’s eyebrows furrowed in worry as she scanned the younger woman’s face to find an answer.

Riley shook her head, “Not in the way you are probably thinking. I just don’t know much about it, and so it’s something I’m not too keen on getting it any time soon.”

Lauren took Riley’s hands in hers and made sure they had eye contact, “I promise you. I wish I could help you believe me.”

Then, all of a sudden, Riley had a quick thought and it escaped her lips before she could retract it.

“Start the connection with me.”

Lauren froze and raised an eyebrow, “What?”

The younger woman thought about what she just blurted out, but she was sure she wanted this. She was sure a few days ago, and she was sure now. She did want this. She wanted to be with Lauren. She wanted to be next to her and be a part of her life. She wanted to be a part of this life.

“You said,” Riley’s voice came out a little huskily before she cleared it. “You said the other night that you haven’t started the connection between you and a potential mate. I know I said I didn’t want the mate mark yet, but I want you to start the connection. I am sure of this and I am sure of you. I want this with you, Lauren.”

Lauren paused, “Are you sure about this, Riley? The connection is a strong force and it may change any thoughts or feelings you may have. The power of the connection is to start the bonding and if for some reason, we would need to break it, it can really damage someone. I’ve seen it happen.” She sighed. “I just don’t want you to change your mind and I would have to sever it. It’s not something that is easily done nor is it a painless process.”

“I like you, Lauren,” Riley simply stated. “I have these strong feelings for you anyway. I want this.” She reached up and pulled Lauren closer to her. Her hand reached around and her thumb caressed Lauren’s cheek. She glanced up into Lauren’s deep brown eyes before noticing that they were already looking at her lips.

It didn’t take much more for their lips to capture in a soft kiss. Lauren immediately started to kiss back and only a few moments passed until she crawled over the smaller woman and gently pushed her against the rock they were now laying on. As every other time they’ve kissed, Lauren’s lips were warm and soft against hers; although, there was more passion in this one. She didn’t know if this was the connection that they were speaking of or was it all Lauren, or was it both. Their lips danced across one another as Riley pulled Lauren in closer to her. She wanted to feel her against her body, but as they continued, she could feel the heat between them two start to grow. All of a sudden, she became really hot and Lauren’s lips were starting to get hotter. 

This had to be it. She had to be doing it now.

Her heart was racing so much, she could feel it’s beat pulsating throughout her body. She could hear it in her ears as the blood rushed from her head. She suddenly felt something pull away inside of her as Lauren softly pushed herself up so there was a few inches of space between them.

“Are you okay?”

Riley felt her heart swoon. This woman was more concerned about her than she has been about anything in her life.

“Yeah,” she nodded. Her breath felt like it was leaving her as she struggled to catch it after Lauren seemed to take it away from her. “Was that it?”

Lauren smirked, “I mean I can kiss you more if you’d like.”

Riley couldn’t help but smile and playfully hit her on her arm while the two shared a laugh, “Do you feel any differently?” Lauren asked.

Riley analyzed herself for a quick moment before shaking her head, “Is it supposed to be immediate?”

“No, it can grow over time, but in some cases they have seen it be almost night and day once a wolf creates a connection with their mate.”

“Yeah, no. I still stand by what I said earlier.” Riley offered her a smile, before placing a quick kiss on Lauren’s lips. “I also wouldn’t mind if you kissed me more.”

She could feel the smirk on Lauren’s lips as she finished her statement.

“I don’t think I would be able to stop,” Lauren husked. Riley shuddered at the thought and felt it pulsate all throughout her body. She lightly moaned in Lauren’s mouth as the two continued having their moment on the boulder overlooking the sound.

~

“Finally, you two decided to show up!” Colton, one of the twins, shouted from his spot on the log. He was sitting next to his brother as they were surrounded by the rest of the pack including Kris and Dr. Roberts.

Riley could feel warmth spread on her cheekbones as she was hoping it was dark enough to hide her blush. Her and Lauren spent some alone time at their spot on the rock talking and kissing, before Lauren’s phone dinged with a text message from Ashton saying that they were starting the bonfire.

Lauren’s arm was wrapped around the smaller brunette’s neck as Riley held the hand that was draped along her shoulder with her own. There was an empty log set aside for them and a few blankets. Before they sat down, Lauren separated herself from their embrace and started unfolding a blanket onto the log so they could sit down.

“She did it.” A female voice piped up, but Riley was unable to figure out who it came from.

“Wait, what?” Another voice stated. This time she saw that it came from Kol, the youngest in the tribe.

“She started the connection,” The female voice said again. It was Aubrey. Riley remembered her as one of the warriors she met the other night. “I can sense it.”

“Oh, you’re so right.” A blonde woman stated. Chloe. She started giggling with the blond next to her, another scout, Audrey.

Riley could tell Lauren was getting annoyed as she started to growl so low that only she was able to hear because she was sitting so close to her.

“So, Riley, how does it feel? Want to rip her clothes off yet?” Noah, the other twin teased.

“Yeah, if you hear any screams coming from Lauren’s room tonight, we all know why,” Colton laughed with him.

“Oh you two, stop teasing Lauren and Riley,” Dr. Robberts piped up from her spot next to Kris. “We should be happy for them, at least I am.” She looked over at the two women and gave them a sweet smile.

“Anyway,” Kris coughed as he tried to change the subject.

Riley reached over and squeezed Lauren’s hand comfortingly. Upon feeling the pressure, the older woman immediately looked down at the smaller woman and offered a small smile, “I’m okay. Are you?”

Riley offered her a smile back and nodded, before turning her attention to Kris, wanting to learn as much as she could tonight about the tribe’s history.

“For hundreds of years, there have been many tribes all around the world,” Kris started. “As of now, there are probably a dozen or so scattered across vast lands in different countries. Some are named after their surnames, like we are, but some are generalized and named after the meaning of wolf in their native languages.”

“I like this one,” Lauren whispered in her ear as chills were sent down her spine as the older woman’s lips barely grazed the tip of her skin. 

“As a pack, we protect the lands in the Northwestern area of the United States and Canada and have been for many generations. The land that we know now has been passed down through the Mikaelson family and before it was given to me, it belonged to my grandfather, Henry Mikaelson.”

“Has he told this story before?” Riley questioned quietly. Lauren nodded, “He’s mainly doing this for you and Kole.” She nodded over to the young Omega who looked like he was very invested in the story. “I don’t think he’s heard it yet.”

Riley nodded as Kris continued.

“Many years ago, there was a clan that came to our lands. They were exiled from Germany after a civil dispute. When they first got here, they were peaceful and didn’t want to cause any harm to the humans in nearby areas or to us, so my family allowed them to stay. From the stories I heard when I was younger, they wanted to move South but they never did. Over the years, their intent changed,” he paused. “They are known now as the Nightwalker clan, named after an old ancestral name from German descent.”

“They eventually wanted to share the land with my family, because they weren’t able to find their own at the time. Even though they eventually did find their own, it wasn’t as plentiful as the land that we own. They started to hunt on our lands and cause a disturbance in nearby towns and cities, showing themselves to the humans. So, my grandfather offered them a treaty. The Mikaelson family would offer them more land with richer hunting grounds as long as they didn’t cross over the new territory lines.”

“I think I know where this is going,” Riley whispered. “My dad told me this one.” Lauren nodded in acknowledgement and gave her a soft peck on her temple.

“Tensions were growing, and unfortunately, I was close to one of their sons, Roman,” Kris sighed and Dr. Roberts reached out and comforted him by softly rubbing his leg. Kris reached down and took her hand in his and they shared a soft smile. Riley didn’t think they were close and apparently, Lauren didn’t either as she raised an eyebrow at the exchange.

“Roman was the youngest Nightwalker in the clan at the time, but we became great friends. Looking back now, all of the trouble we caused was influenced by him, but I wasn’t the brightest child back then. The only thing I was really proud of was dating and then marrying your mother, Lauren.” He looked up and they shared a solemned glance before Kris continued.

“Since the clan already lost a civil war in Germany, they originally didn’t want any tension between the two; however, they were then led by totally different people with different views on how they should live. The night before the treaty was supposed to be signed and taken into effect, some members of the Nightwalker clan, including Roman, stormed onto our land. They killed many people, a lot of the women and children, so we wouldn’t be able to grow our population; however we had different bloodlines than them.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Riley wondered aloud.

“I’m not sure how much your father has told you, but since we aren’t blood bound and we don’t have to be, we are able to turn humans into wolves. The Nightwalker clan is not.”

Riley nodded, remembering that her dad did mention that. “Why is it like that?”

Kris shrugged, “It’s just how the pack’s tradition was created. A clan is typically much stronger than a tribe, since they all share the same blood; however it takes a much longer time to grow a clan than it does to grow a tribe. Currently, we have a larger pack than the Nightwalkers now, because even though they were able to slaughter our people, we fought back and over time, we were able to grow our pack at a faster rate than Roman has been able to get women pregnant.”

“So that’s how it works? Roman has to be the one to get women pregnant? Are they part of the pack too?”

Kris shook his head, “Typically they aren’t. The Nightwalkers have a belief system that male wolves are stronger than females, so if the woman ends up having a babygirl, Roman forces the woman to get an abortion, or kills her.”

Riley gasped, not knowing this part of the story. Her parents must not have known, or they didn’t want to share that information with their daughter. 

“So they only have males in the pack?”

Kris nodded, “As far as we know, yes. The women that Roman gets with are human and when the baby is born, they carry his genetic code, but it’s not enough. So, when they get older and stronger, he bites them and then they change and become like him.”

Riley sighed lightly, comprehending what was just told to her. “Do they have roles in the pack too? Like how you guys are?” She could feel Lauren shaking her head beside her, but she focused on Kris.

“No,” he simply stated. “The roles that we carry were from a law that was created after the attack. By having scouts, hunters, warriors, and healers, we are able to stay more on top of things that happen on our land. As far as we know, the Nightwalkers don’t do that. They typically do everything as a unit.” he paused. “In our pack, when a wolf has a child or children, they typically follow in their parents footprints and take over their role once they become older and inactive.”

Riley nodded and then thought about her and Lauren. Biologically, they wouldn’t be able to have a child and they weren’t close to being ready to have one anyway, but she did wonder. When the time came, who would take over the pack? She glanced over at the older woman and they shared a soft glance. It seemed like Lauren was thinking the same thing.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by a loud cry in the distance.


	10. Chapter 10

Lauren shot from her spot next to Riley and immediately shrugged off her leather jacket. “On me!” She yelled out and ran towards the woodline, but not quickly transforming into the wolf that Riley saw that night. Her clothes ripped to shreds and fell into several pieces on the ground.

The rest of the pack followed her command and one by one, in a very quick fashion, they all transformed and ran into the trees after her. Once they let out of eyesight, the sound of them wavered until only distant howls can be heard.

Riley looked down at Lauren’s jacket, strewn on the ground and picked it up, holding it close to her body before shrugging her shoulders and put her arms through the sleeves.

At least Lauren loved the jacket enough to not rip it to shreds.

Dr. Roberts and Kris were the only two, besides her to stay back. “I have to get the exam room ready,” the tall blond woman stated. “If they are still alive, they won’t be for very long unless I can figure out what or who attacked them.”

Kris nodded and they followed her into the house and into the medical room where Lauren went the night she fought Axel. Dr. Roberts immediately started going through drawers and bringing out gauze, bandages, healing creams, and even a surgical tray full of instruments. Kris went over to the cabinets on the far side of the room and took out several sheets and draped them over the table in the middle. 

Riley didn’t know what to do, nor how to help. She stood off into the corner, hoping she was out of the way at least. 

“Do they know anything yet?” Dr. Roberts asked as she continued getting materials out and prepped.

Kris shook his head, “I haven’t heard anything yet.”

“Dr. Roberts, is there anything I can do?”

“Oh yes, Riley,” she hurriedly walked over and ushered her to the table. “You can call me Nicole, dear. Wash your hands with this,” she handed over some sort of surgical cleaner that Riley has only seen in medical TV shows and movies. “Then, you can help with getting some things from that far cabinet that I may need.”

Suddenly, there was a loud bang that sounded like it was right outside the house.

Both women looked up at Kris, to see if he may know if it were any of the pack members, but his eyes just turned golden. “Stay here, please,” he said hurriedly before he rushed out of the room and closed the door behind him.

“C’mon sweetheart,” Nicole said softly. “We need to get this area prepped. I have no idea what I’m dealing with, and I want to be prepared.”

“Don’t you think it was just another attack?”

Nicole shook her head, “I’m not sure, but I don’t have a good feeling about it.”

Riley hummed as she continued grabbing things out of cabinets for her. Nicole had to describe things a little more in depth than she had to with Kris, only because she didn’t really understand everything that she had, but she tried her best. As a human with no medical background or any type of mythological powers, she sometimes felt useless when it came to situations like these, but she was never someone to just stay on the sidelines.

“They’re back,” Kris said as he rushed through the door. “Elijah is bringing him in.”

Riley tried to remember who Elijah was in the group and she had a feeling it was one of the guys who had biceps as large as her head. Lauren came swooping in right afterwards, with new clothes strewn on once the older woman caught sight of Riley, she immediately went to her side. Then, Elijah came in right after her, carrying a body bridle-style and placing him on the exam table in the middle of the room.

“Male, seemed to be early to mid 20s, and looked like a hiker,” Elijah stated in a deep, but rushed voice. “He, um, passed before we were able to get to him.” When he placed the body down, Riley couldn’t help but gasp slightly.

“I know,” Lauren whispered next to her. Riley quickly looked at her up and down, now seemingly remembering that her girlfriend got back and wanted to make sure she was unscathed.

“Are you okay?”

Lauren nodded assuringly, “Of course. Are you?”

Riley looked back at the mangled body and sighed again, “I think so.”

“If you can’t handle this, I can take you somewhere else and we can just be alone, talk about something else. Whatever you want.”

No, that seemed like an awful idea. “No,” she shook her head. “I wouldn’t want to keep you from this. Plus, I want to know what happens.”

“Where did you guys find him?” Nicole asked, looking at a few of the pack members that are now slowly coming back, all in new clothes.

“He was right inside territory lines, but nothing seemed out of the blue,” Lauren piped up. “There were no tracks anywhere and no markings indicating there was a fight or anything. It seemed like he was placed there.”

Jeremy then came bursting through the door, “I have never seen anything like this.” He walked up to the table and pointed out a certain claw mark, something very similar to what Lauren had on her shoulder.

“This, right here, is a claw mark from a werewolf. Probably someone from the Nightwalker Clan,” he informed. “This,” he pointed to another mark. This one was a lot thinner, like if the size of a nail cut him. “Is not.”

Nicole nodded her head agreeing with the salutary. “You’re right, Jeremy. They are not the same.” She paused and looked at something on the male’s neck. “I’ve seen this before,” she said softly, as if she were saying it to herself.

“What?” Lauren asked hurriedly. “What have you seen?”

Nicole shook her head and immediately went over to the countertop on the other side of the room and started flipping through several medical journals that she had Riley pull out just moments before. 

Everyone looked at each other questionly before Jeremy sprung to action. “Here, I’m going to collect some blood before the body starts shutting down his organs and then we won’t be able to get anything.”

Lauren nodded as everyone watched. While Jeremy was collecting several blood samples, Nicole was still quickly flipping through pages in her journals. She seemed to be looking for something in particular and Riley wondered what it could be that none of the werewolves in the room already know.

“Here,” Jeremy handed over the many vials he collected from the male that was dead on the table to Nicole. She placed down the journal she started reading and based on the determined look on her face, she seemed to know what to do.

She proceeded to do several tests in the small lab that was included in her large medical room. As she completed them, they waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Time flew by and an old grandfather clock struck midnight in one of the front rooms of the house.

“Did you want to go home?” Lauren then asked her. “I mean, you don’t have to stay here for the night if you don’t want to. We have several empty rooms that we can set you up in.”

Riley shook her head, “No I’ll stay here, but I want to see what happens first.”

Lauren raised an eyebrow as she wrapped her arm around the smaller woman’s back, “The results could take a while.”

“I don’t care,” she shrugged. “Are you tired or anything? You can go lay down, if you want,” She looked over towards the body on the table, “but I’d rather stay here.”

Lauren shook her head, “I won’t leave your side.”

“When I was overseas,” Nicole started as she stood next to Kris, “there was a creature that I have never seen before. They were very abundant in Europe, so I had to deal with them all the time, but they were only in Europe and some parts of some other countries, here and there, in the eastern hemisphere, but never in my life have I seen them in America.”

“The tribes I worked with,” she continued, “were very knowledgeable on them; however, neither side was strong enough to take the other, so they mainly had treaties set up to prevent any wars between the two. Although, sometimes the doctrines weren’t enough to stop a few.”

“I never thought that they would travel this far west, knowing how many tribes are here in America and Canada,” Nicole looked up at Kris, who nodded.

“I have only heard them in stories, ones who I have passed down in the family line and in the tribe,” He stated, knowing what Nicole was talking about. “From what I know of them, they have only been seen in European and Asian countries. Some were spotted in Australia not too long ago, and the farthest I have known them travel on this side of the world is Mexico.”

Nicole nodded, “Some tribes I have worked with in Europe had their fair share of nicknames for them, but they all described the monster pretty accurately.”

“Wherever they were, their native language had their own names for them, but they all meant one thing.”

“What was that?” Riley wondered.

Lauren turned to her and spoke softly, so soft that Riley was barely able to register what she said.

“Vampire.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh shit...lol sounded very predictable didn't it?  
> What story has werewolves, but no vampires? Let me know what you think! I love reading comments! Have a great day!


	11. Chapter 11

“I didn’t know that vampires were even on our side of the world,” Lauren spoke softly, amazed. “I’ve only heard stories of them, through you,” she pointed over towards her father as he nodded.

“The stories that you’ve heard are ones that have been passed down my family line,” he explained. “I have never met one in person, or even had to deal with them, like Nicole over here,” he ushered towards the medical professional. “She would have more knowledge than me.”

“The stories that I have heard and have passed down to the pack,” he continued. “are ones that aren’t very descriptive. Like we’ve mentioned, vampires aren’t very abundant in these areas. America was known to house a lot of werewolf packs in ancient stories, but nowadays, we are pretty much spread around the world. I guess it’s their time now to do the same.”

Lauren sighed, “So what do we know about them? I’m assuming they are dangerous.”

“Unfortunately yes,” Nicole nodded. “They are very strong and fast, very lethal to humans and werewolves. Their bite contains venom that can either kill a human or turn them, depending on if the human can survive the transformation process.”

“Transformation process?” Ashton asked from his spot in the corner. Until now, he has been pretty quiet, listening to the conversation in front of him. “Kind of like us?”

“Theirs is much harder to survive,” Nicole explained. “The amount of fatalities I have seen overseas in just humans alone were astonishing. They were ones that didn’t survive it, which can explain why there are very few vampires in existence, but doesn’t negate them entirely.”

“I’ve heard their venom has to be in their system before they die, though, to be turned. Am I right?” Kris asked, folding his arms over his torso.

“From what I’ve seen, yes.” she explained further. “However, the cells in their venom are so strong and clash so hard with our blood cells, that only very few humans survive the process. When a vampire injects their venom through a bite, the vampire that injected the bite then has to kill that person. Then within a few days or so, the humans should awake as a newborn vampire.”

“Should is the key word, apparently,” Elijah scoffed.

“No, you’re absolutely right. That is how it’s supposed to work, as so I’ve studied,” she said. “But, I have seen so many humans not make it through the process and they are dead for several days, before they are proclaimed ‘failures’.”

“And are we sure they are failures or are we not sure they will not turn in vampires?” Lauren asked.

“I’ve studied a few, but no. They never woke and when I completed more tests, it was like the venom wasn’t even there. They were dead,” Nicole stated. “I have no idea why that happened, but I am hopefully going to do some more testing here,” she glanced over towards Kris in a questioning manner.

Kris nodded, “We will get whatever you need, doctor.”

“Wait, there’s still another question,” Lauren piped up. “Why are the vampires and the Nightwalkers attacking the same body?”

Riley pondered for a second, as did everyone else. It didn’t make any sense, until she remembered what Axel stated that night Lauren got injured, _something greater than anything created_.

“They weren’t attacking them,” she whispered. Lauren looked down at her and raised an eyebrow, before realization dawned across her face.

“What did you say?” Jeremy asked confused, not having heard what the smaller brunette stated.

“They weren’t attacking the same body, or bodies, if they have done this together in the past,” Riley explained.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Asher kicked off the wall with his foot and stepped a few feet closer, “You think they are working on this together?”

Riley nodded, and one of the female wolves laughed in the corner of the room. She didn’t remember her name, but she didn’t always get the best vibe from her.

“She’s right, Chloe,” Lauren said sternly. They made eye contact before Chloe’s smile turned into a frown and she stepped back against the wall. “That night Axel and I got into it, he mentioned that his pack was up to something. He came with a warning.”

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Kris asked, now worried.

“Sorry, I was kind of held up with my shoulder torn apart and having to explain to Riley that I’m not entirely human,” Lauren replied with a dash of sarcasm. She paused and took a breath, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t really put it together until just now when Riley said it.”

The wolves then glanced at the smaller brunette and she offered them a smile, “I just remembered what Axel said that night to her.”

“What did he say?” Asher asked her.

“Something about his family was creating something greater than anything created,” Riley shrugged. “He didn’t give specifics, but he did warn Lauren that we shouldn’t get in their way or it wouldn’t end up good for us.”

Kris hummed, before he looked back at the body on the table, “We need to get rid of this body tonight,” he looked over towards Elijah, “Grab a few people and burn him, then dump the ashes into the sound. I want this done tonight. If it gets out that we know, then we may be playing into a battle that we don’t know how to win yet.”

Elijah glanced over at Lauren, almost asking for permission. Lauren shook her head, “No, don’t do that. Then they will really know we know about them. Remember, we took him from a place where there was no sign of struggle. Bring him back and call the police. Make sure you are there when you call so they can pinpoint the exact location. Call it in anonymously, say you were camping in the area and looking for more firewood. Then, come back with a report.”

Elijah looked back at Kris, who nodded, “That’s a much better plan.”

Lauren smirked, “That’s why you named me alpha so early. I finished my training earlier than any female alpha has done before, even faster than some of the greatest male leaders in our history.”

Riley raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend, very impressed at that announcement.

Kris smirked and chuckled, “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. You do have your mother’s brain.”

Nicole then interrupted, “Sorry to impose on the sweet father-daughter moment in front of us, but what do we do about this?” She motioned over the corpse in front of her.

Kris sighed, “There is nothing much we can do. We are unsure of what the next step is as nothing of this sort has ever happened in our history.” He looked over at Asher, “Tell the pack that this is still unsolved. We need to continue any research and go back to normal, but stay on high alert. We know we are also dealing with vampires on top of the Nightwalkers, so when the scouts go out on their rounds, I also want two warriors with them at all times.”

Asher nodded, but hesitated, “Uh sir? What about the full moon next week?”

Riley could feel Lauren slump against her body, and immediately wondered what the issue was. Kris sighed from across the room, and the young woman immediately worried about his stress levels.

“Get ready for that too,” he ushered him away and leaned over the counter, looking like exhaustion is becoming over him. Nicole then walked over towards him and rubbed his back, comfortingly. They muttered some soft words to each other, all while Riley watched Lauren raise her eyebrow again at the connection.

“What did Asher mean about the full moon?” Riley asked, half wondering and half wanting Lauren to focus on something else rather than her father getting comforted by a woman that wasn’t her mother. It worked.

Lauren looked back at her with her full attention, “I can explain more of that upstairs, but why don’t we get your bag from your car and then we can head up? I’m sure you’re tired.”

Riley then notices how tired she actually was and she looked at the time. It was just after one in the morning, and her body suddenly felt heavy. Lauren was right, she was exhausted. She nodded her head, but halted their movements before they got very far. “I can go get my bag, though. I’m not incapable of that.”

Lauren chuckled and swung her arm over Riley’s shoulders as they walked out of the exam room, “Oh darling, were you even listening in there? I’m not keeping you out of my sight.”

Riley shook her head, but offered Lauren a small smile as they went out to her car and grabbed her small duffle bag.

~

“So tell me about the full moon,” Riley stated as they entered Lauren’s room. She immediately sat on the large bed in the middle and was immediately happily satisfied from the soft faux animal fur-like blankets that lined the top of the comforter.

Lauren hesitated as she sat on her bench that was near the foot of her bed and took off her shoes. “I’m sure you have heard of the traditional werewolf stories where we transform every full moon?”

Riley nodded.

“Well, that’s that,” Lauren deadpanned, with a small smirk on her face, testing Riley.

The younger woman immediately slacked her jaw, “That’s it? That can’t be it. Tell me more.”

“Well, yes, we do transform every month, but unlike everyday, it’s not at will,” Lauren turned serious. “It’s a lot more painful and very drawn out. It’s kind of ridiculous, actually, but during the transformation, our powers practically double. On the night of the full moon, while we are transformed, we become bigger, stronger, faster,” she hesitated. “Meaner.”

Riley stayed silent as Lauren continued to describe it, while also sounding very self conscious.

“We think it’s a way for our genes to be ‘happy’,” Lauren made a face, “I suppose. In this form, we become more animalistic. We become less like ourselves and more of a wild animal.”

Riley hummed, “Do you not like that?”

Lauren shrugged and walked over to the edge of the bed, “It’s not my favorite aspect of me, but it’s something I’m going to have to deal with.”

Riley leaned forward and grabbed the older woman’s hand. She didn’t know what to do to comfort the woman as she caught onto the feeling that Lauren expressed when explaining the situation. As much as she has been around Lauren, she learned that the alpha sometimes feels self conscious about her lifestyle and what she becomes. She has learned that Lauren loves some things about it, but doesn’t love others as much, and she understood. Granted, she can’t understand how much of a burden it is to live that lifestyle. She can’t imagine how it must have felt to be born in this family and grow up to be something that is dictated as a monster by humans, to be belittled, or scared of.

Lauren liked to be in control of her feelings, emotions, and actions. Riley caught onto that very early. She liked knowing that she was able to change at will and still remain herself, but having to change involuntarily to become the monster that everyone thinks of you, must hurt.

“So, your clothing bill must be very high,” Riley tried to change the subject. She didn’t know what else to do, and it seemed to work a little when the corner of Lauren’s lips turned up in a small smile.

“You could say that,” Lauren now smiled fully at her, the gleam in her eyes shining brightly. “It’s easy to say that I may rip through a complete outfit of clothing at least twice a week.”

Riley could feel her eyes widen in shock, “Why don’t you just take them off before changing, then?”

Lauren shrugged, “It’s not as easy as one may think. Sometimes, I just forget and sometimes are what you saw earlier. It’s an emergency and I don’t have time to take off every article of clothing I have on at the time. We have plenty of funding that goes towards clothing alone, anyway.” The older woman reached up and played with the lapel of her leather jacket that was still being worn by the smaller brunette.

Riley immediately realized that she was still wearing Lauren’s leather jacket after putting it on when Lauren stripped from it earlier. She moved to shrug it off, but Lauren stopped her.

“No,” Lauren whispered. “I like the way it looks on you. In case you may not have realized, it is my favorite, so I try to save it. It just fits when my favorite woman is also wearing it.”

Riley could feel her cheeks heat up at Lauren’s sweet romance. She looked down at their interlocked hands and her eyes caught onto the older woman’s tribal tattoo on her forearm. The Mikaelson motto scripted onto her skin that was right above a wavering branch of black ink, seemed to pop out the most at her.

“How did werewolves even start?” Riley asked. It was something she wanted to ask Kris at the bonfire, but they were interrupted before she could have the chance.

She sighed before speaking, “The history of us really is sort of a blurred tale. Werewolves have had ancient stories in many different cultures, dating back to ancient times. The one for North America; however, the one we have stemmed from actually didn’t start on the West coast. It stemmed from the land where Wisconsin is now, with a very early Native American tribe who has become known as the Fox tribe. They were the ones that may have been the first to receive it.”

“Receive it?” Riley wondered. “A werewolf?”

“Sort of,” Lauren explained. “According to this legend, there was a spirit-god from Native American Mythology that was also a shapeshifter. He lived in the woods and one day while he was roaming in his human form, he saw two brothers from the Fox tribe hunting. They were successful with their bows and arrows as they were able to catch a deer. The spirit-god walked up to the brothers and instead of introducing himself as a spirit-god, he presented himself as a lost and hungry wanderer from a nearby tribe. One of the brothers offered him some of the deer meat that they had just caught, and he accepted.”

“A week later,” she continued, “he appeared once again in the same area in the woods and found they were hunting again. One of the brothers explained to him that ever since they caught the deer a week earlier, they hadn’t been able to catch anything and were very hungry. He remembered the brothers and their generosity, but he didn’t have any meat to give them, but he was able to share one thing. His power.”

“He said that he could share with them his power to shapeshift into a wolf so that they could catch a deer more easily. At first the brothers didn’t believe there was such a thing, but he transformed in front of them, and then they believed. There was one condition, however.”

“What was it?” Riley asked.

“The only condition that he gave them was that they could not use their wolf-forms to hurt any humans, only to hunt.”

“Let me guess, they fucked up.”

Lauren smirked, “In a way. Months passed and the brothers did use the power and in their wolf forms, they were able to catch enough deer for the entire village. One day, though, one of the brothers was in an argument with another man in the village. He lost control, and in his anger, he transformed into his wolf form and killed him.”

Sleep was starting to become Riley, and so she laid back on the pillows behind her and Lauren followed suit, but she continued the story.

“Now fearing the power, the brothers were both exiled from the tribe and forced to live in the woods on their own. The spirit-god was furious and in his own anger, he cast a new spell on the brother so that from that day forth, he would no longer be able to shapeshift at will. Every day he would take on a complete human form and on the night of the full moon, he would transform into a powerful monster, not remembering his human form. The other brother, who didn’t do no wrong, was allowed to keep his shapeshifting ability, but knew that his own brother would be unable to control himself when in his wolf form. So, he let himself live on his own in the wilderness.”

“Now the spirit-god, known as Matchitehew, is known as the Father of Werewolves, being the first one and holds the creation of others. That is where our history started, but it is far from where it ends. From then on, legends from other tribes told the stories of werewolves, larger than horses themselves, hunting near their villages. Several tribes reported that flocks of animals, including horses themselves, were being brutally ravaged in the middle of the night. Ever since then tribes have wondered to all across North America and now the world. Since then, we have evolved and now we hold the power to transform others, but it is only bestowed on the alphas of a tribe or a clan.”

Lauren sighed, “You may have realized that the Mikaelson tribe has the genes of both the brothers. The Nightwalkers are classic shapeshifters, so those sons of bitches do not have to go through the torture of it once a month. We are unsure of why this has happened, even though there are bets going around in the pack that there was an inbred line far back in our lineage,” she smirked and glanced down at the now sleeping girl. She didn’t blame her for falling asleep during the story. Growing up, her father would tell her stories all the time to help her fall asleep, that one being one of her favorites. She loved knowing the history of how they become what they are today, it helped reason with her when she was becoming doubtful. It was a gift, but now more than ever, it was a power gifted to them to help people. To help prevent mad chaos from happening in the city she grew up in and loved.

Her lips grew into a small smile, before leaning down and placing a soft kiss on her cheek. “Goodnight, my dear,” she whispered as she ran her thumb lovingly across the soft skin. “Sleep well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I did some reading and research about the history of werewolves, and the story that Lauren told Riley was actually based on an old legend! There was a slight bit of twist though to help fit the story line.
> 
> I hope you guys liked this chapter! It makes me so happy that a lot of you are really enjoying the story. It literally makes my day reading your guys' comments! Keep 'em coming as well as kudos! Thank you and have a wonderful day!


End file.
